Nottinghamshire Police is warning members of the public to watch out for a rise in phone call scams after two vulnerable victims lost more than £18,000.
A woman in her 60s from Nottingham handed over thousands of pounds in cash to fraudsters, and another report saw a lady in her 70s, also from Nottingham, lose £11,500 after a man purported to be a police officer.
The first victim received a call on 24 January from the fraudster who claimed he was working for the Metropolitan Police force. The man requested her to withdraw large amounts of cash as part of a covert police operation and that she would get the money back.
After being told she could be arrested if she did not cooperate, the vulnerable woman was talked into withdrawing almost £7,000 in cash from a bank. She was told the bank was under investigation and that officers needed her to withdraw the money as part of a covert evidence-gathering exercise.
During the same week, the second victim also received a call saying she was part of a covert police operation was persuaded to buy a £11,500 Rolex watch, which was later collected from her doorstep.
In both incidents the fraudster used the same police officer’s name and same phrasing, to convince the both victims to cooperate.
Fiona Price, a fraud and cyber protect officer at Nottinghamshire Police, said both victims were being supported by specialist officers having been cruelly targeted in the sophisticated scam.
She said: “We have unfortunately…
