Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have been supporting a national campaign to raise awareness and help prevent victims of courier fraud.
Courier fraud is when a scammer contacts the victim via phone pretending to be either a police officer or a member of staff from their bank. The fraudster may even give the victim another number to call or ask them to call the number on the back of their bank card, in a bid to convince them that they are genuine.
However, the scammer will keep the line open at their end, so when the victim makes the call, they are unknowingly connected straight back to the scammer or one of their associates. The fraudster will then try to convince the victim to go and withdraw money or purchase an expensive item and hand it over to them, under the guise that they are helping with an investigation and will be reimbursed.
Between 10 February–5 April 2022, 10 incidents of courier fraud were reported in Greater Manchester. One involved the victim being called by a fraudster claiming to be a police officer. After asking the victim questions about their finances, the fraudster convinced the victim that they are required to assist with an ongoing fraud investigation and go to their bank to withdraw £7,500.
They are not to tell the bank they have been contacted by the police and instead tell them the money is for home improvements. Once the cash was withdrawn, the victim was told they needed to go to the Post Office and exchange the…
