Wiltshire Police have issued a warning of a phone scam that has so far resulted in three people being deceived out of money by bogus callers.
The victims were cold called by phone and told three different stories. One was offered a loan, one was told she had won a lottery and the third was told that they had inherited a sum of money from a relative.
But, in order to release the money, the three victims were instructed to purchase “Ukash” vouchers, a virtual gift voucher which can be bought through the internet.
Each victim then received a further call, during which they gave the fraudster the voucher code to confirm they had bought the vouchers as requested. Then they discovered later that the vouchers had been spent online by the fraudsters and they were left empty handed.
“These fraudsters appear genuine, for example by using an ‘020’ number to contact members of the public and by using a legitimate voucher scheme to deceive victims.” Warned Detective Sergeant Julie Law, who is the police’s head of fraud.
“It’s important to remember that any genuine loan company would never cold call potential customers. Also, lotteries rely on ticket holders checking their own tickets and it is extremely rare to inherit from unheard of relatives.
“I would urge anyone who is contacted by these fraudsters not to part with any money or engage in dialogue with them.”
Anyone who thinks that they are a victim of fraud can contact Action Fraud for help and advice on 0300 1232040 or make contact through their website www.actionfraud.org.uk. Alternatively they can contact Wiltshire Police on 101.
