Man pretended to be police officer in attempt to defraud Matlock woman

Lesley Wyld was at home earlier this month when she received a phone call from a man claiming to be a detective.

The scammer asked Lesley if she had transferred two large sums totalling £9,000 to Heathrow Airport - which she had not. He subsequently told Lesley that her accounts were at risk and she needed to “act fast” to secure her savings.

“Stay on the line,” he urged her. “Time is of the essence.”

The so-called police officer went on to ask Lesley, 74, for the long number on her card – assuring her all along that he was acting urgently to protect her money.

Fortunately, the day before, Lesley had watched the first video in Derbyshire police’s ‘Sock It to the Scammers campaign’. In it, a bright pink sock puppet named Claude pops out of a biscuit tin to warn an elderly woman that she is about to fall for a courier fraud scam.

Lesley’s suspicions were raised further when the bogus detective asked her to take her card to the Matlock branch of HSBC and hand it in. At this point, she terminated the call, phoned her bank on a trusted number and was put straight through to the fraud team.

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“I think the next step is that he was going to be actually at the bank, waiting outside to intercept me before I took it in,” Lesley said.

“I felt extremely good for a start because I hadn’t been scammed and it was my doing that I hadn’t been scammed.

“But then I must admit I was concerned as to how they’d got my number and why I’d been picked and targeted. It did affect me that way.

“He was extraordinarily good. Never have I encountered anybody able to deliver exactly what he thought his target wanted and needed. It was extremely well done.”

Lesley added: “Don’t trust anything on the phone. It’s as simple as that, and equally that applies to emails and so on. Until you’ve verified it exactly and precisely, and checked with an authentic source such as your bank, don’t do it.”

#SockItToTheScammers focuses on all types of fraud and advises people to remember the following words if they think they might be targeted by scammers – Stop, Think, Tell.

• Stop before clicking a link, giving your information or following the instructions from the caller.
• Think about what they’re asking for, and why they say they need it. Banking and personal information is very valuable so consider carefully before giving any details.
• Tell another person or organisation. If you’re still not sure about this request, talk to someone you trust – if you’re ever in doubt, try and verify what’s being asked and look for further advice.

If you think you might have been a victim of courier fraud, a scam, fraud or online crime (cybercrime) you can report it by contacting Derbyshire Constabulary, or to Action Fraud, the national reporting centre, online at www.actionfraud.police.uk, or on 0300 123 2040:

You can also anonymously contact the independent charity CrimeStoppers, on 0800 555 111, or by visiting the CrimeStoppers website: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/.

To watch Lesley discuss her experiences click here.