Contact us anonymously with information about crime
Contact us anonymously with information about crime
The courier scam is when fraudsters call and trick you into handing your cards and PIN to a courier on your doorstep. There are many variations of the scam, but it usually follows this method: A fraudster will cold call you on a landline, claiming to be from your bank or the police. In order to reassure you that they are genuine, they suggest that you hang up and ring the bank/police back straight away. However, they don’t disconnect the call from their end so that when you dial the real phone number, you are actually still speaking to the fraudster. They then ask you to read out your PIN or type it on your phone keypad. Finally they send a courier to you to collect your bank card. The fraudster will have then obtained your name, address, full bank details, card and PIN.
Our Advice
1. Report the fraud to Action Fraud.
2. If you have handed over any details to the fraudster, call your bank and cancel your cards immediately and where possible use a different telephone number.
3. If you suspect someone may be guilty of committing this offence, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
Share sale, boiler room, hedge fund or bond fraud involves bogus brokers, usually based overseas, cold calling people to pressure them into buying shares that promise high returns. In reality, the shares are either worthless or non-existent.
Our Advice
1. Report the fraud to Action Fraud. Break off all contact with the fraudster at once.
2. Alert your bank immediately if you’ve given the fraudsters your bank account details.
3. Keep any written communications you’ve received from the share sale fraudsters. This may help you give evidence to the authorities.
4. Because many boiler rooms are run from abroad, they are not covered by UK jurisdiction or compensation schemes. Therefore, you’re unlikely to recover any lost investment.
5. Be aware that you are now likely to be a target for other frauds. Fraudsters often share details about people they have successfully targeted or approached, using different identities to commit further frauds. People who’ve already fallen victim to fraudsters are particularly vulnerable to the fraud recovery fraud. This is when fraudsters contact people who’ve already lost money through fraud and claim to be law enforcement officers or lawyers. They advise the victim that they can help them recover their lost money but request a fee.
6. If you suspect someone may be guilty of committing this offence, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
A fraudster who claims to be a tradesman or supplier in an official capacity contacts you to offer their services. Once you express an interest or agree to purchase, they ask for advance or upfront payments for the goods or services. Once the advance fee is paid, these goods or services do not materialise. The initial offer of services can be made in person or online, with examples of advance fee fraud scams including career opportunities, inheritance fraud, 419 fraud or fake loans.
Our Advice
1. Report any information about the individual or the business trying to make you pay an advance fee to Crimestoppers anonymously or to the Police and stop communicating with the suspected fraudulent supplier.
2. If you have already paid out an upfront fee for services or goods that have not been received, report the fraud to Action Fraud.
3. If you have given the supplier your bank details, alert your bank immediately.
4. If you receive any threats from the fraudsters once you have stopped communicating with them, alert the police immediately.
5. If you suspect someone may be guilty of committing this offence, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
Internet shoppers are lured into buying phantom goods and services online by scammers who use a range of tricks including bogus websites and spoofed payment services. Be aware of phishing emails that look like they came from the payment site you’re registered with, asking you to update your account. Genuine online shopping sites will be indicated by the padlock symbol in the URL box.
Our Advice
If the seller has misrepresented the goods you’ve bought you can take the following action.
1. Report it to Action Fraud. Keep all evidence of the offence, including goods and correspondence.
2. Alert Consumer Direct by phone on 08454 04 05 06.
3. If paying by credit card alert your credit card company.
4. If you suspect someone may be guilty of committing this offence, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
Cheque overpayment fraud is when a fraudster pays a business for goods or services by a fraudulent cheque. The cheque is made for a higher than the actual value.
The business reimburses the fraudster with the excess amount of money that was apparently paid to it, before it discovers that the cheque was not genuine. Overpayment fraud is seen quite often around the sales of cars.
Our Advice
1. Report the fraud to Action Fraud.
2. If you suspect someone may be guilty of committing this crime and want to remain anonymous, please contact Crimestoppers.
Dating or romance fraud occurs when you think you’ve met your perfect partner online, but they aren’t who they say they are. Once they’ve gained your trust, they ask for money for a variety of emotive reasons. Once the fraudsters are confident that you have enough sympathy and desire for them, they will tell you about a problem they are experiencing in the hope that you will offer them financial support or they may ask you for an intimate picture which may be used to extort funds at a later date.
Our Advice
Trust your instincts. If you’ve only known this person for a short period of time and think something feels wrong, it probably is.
1. Report it to Action Fraud.
2. If you suspect someone may be guilty of committing this offence, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
Lottery fraud happens after fraudsters contact you to tell you you’ve won a large sum of money in an international lottery, sweepstake or other prize draw, but in order to claim your prize you will be asked to supply personal information and copies of official documents, such as your passport, as proof of identity. The fraudsters can then use this information to steal your identity. Once you have provided your personal information, the fraudsters will ask you to pay various fees for example: taxes, legal fees, banking fees, etc, so that they can release your non-existent winnings. Remember you can’t win something you didn’t enter.
Our Advice
1. Report the fraud to Action Fraud.
2.If you suspect someone may be guilty of committing this offence, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
3. Remember, if you haven’t bought a ticket, you can’t have won the lottery.
These people often work door to door or use flyers to approach householders. They generally offer maintenance work such as gardening, driveway repair and roofing and quote low prices which are later inflated. The work they carry out is of a very poor standard, overpriced and they often use intimidation to encourage home owners to accept offers of more work. Bogus traders use false names and addresses and are hard to trace.
Our Advice
If you have been the victim of a high-pressure seller or a bogus trader or require further advice, please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 08454 04 05 06 or 0208 1850 710.
1. Report the fraud to Action Fraud.
2. If you suspect someone may be guilty of committing this offence, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
Employment fraud happens when a fraudster claims to be a recruitment agent, hiring you for a job (which can be in a foreign country) that doesn’t exist. Once you have received the job offer, the fraudsters will contact you about arrangements. If the job is abroad, they will talk about arranging travel, accommodation and visas. You’ll be referred to an agency that, again, may have a website to give it credibility. The agency is supposed to help you with all your arrangements for a fee. When you pay one fee (eg. a visa administration fee), the agency will tell you about another fee that has to be paid (eg. a deposit on accommodation). In reality, the fraudulent agency makes none of these arrangements. What’s more, the fraudsters may also ask for your bank account details to set up salary payments. They will use these details to steal money from your account.
Our Advice
1. Stop all communication with the a agency but make a note of their details and report it to Action Fraud.
2. If you’ve given them any money, contact your bank immediately.
3. Warn the operators of the website where you placed your CV that their site is being used by fraudsters.
4.If you suspect someone may be guilty of committing this offence, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
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Social Engineering Fraud
Is the deception of a person, either over the phone or using a computer, with the express intent of acquiring enough financial/personal information that will allow a fraudster to access their target’s bank account. The fraudster may obtain information from various social media websites to give their targets confidence before persuading them to divulge further information.
Our Advice
If you are suspicious or feel vulnerable, don’t be afraid to terminate the call, and say no to requests for information. Always remember that banks will never contact customers by email to ask for passwords or any other sensitive information. If you have given out this information you can take the following action.
1.Report it to Action Fraud.
2.Report it to your bank who, depending on the level of information divulged, may suggest updating your security details.
3.If you suspect someone may be guilty of committing this offence, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously.