Bogus caller warnings – Dumfries, Newton Stewart and Dalbeattie
Written by author on April 15, 2011
Police are reminding members of the public to be aware of the dangers associated with bogus callers. The warning comes after several reported incidents. The first was when a local woman from Newton Stewart received a call from a male claiming to be from the police and a local crime prevention officer. This male then asked for money for cash donations to fund a crime prevention campaign on animal cruelty. The woman was alert this was a scam and terminated the call.
A second similar incident occurred when a local Dumfries man was contacted by a male person also claiming to be a police officer. Within the call the caller again stated he was working on behalf of a marketing campaign involving cruelty to animals. The local man was aware this was a scam.
The police do not work in this way, if you have any suspicions about someone who is claiming to work for the police, take their name and call Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary on 0845 600 5701 to see if the person and the call is genuine.
In a separate incident, a local man from Dalbeattie received two calls from an Asian sounding person who offered him free SKY television subscription for a year. The caller then went on to say all that was needed for this was his account number. The local man said he does not give out his account number over the phone and that they should write to him as they normally do. When the man tried to ring the number back it returned a no answer.
In another separate incident a local Newton Stewart man received a call from an Asian sounding male who claimed to work for the man’s bank. The caller did not give his name and said that the local man was due a refund in bank charges and requested his bank details. The local man did not divulge his any information to the male caller and told him he would contact his bank direct. The local man’s bank subsequently informed him this was a scam.
Police advice is to never give out personal or banking details to someone you do not know. Ask for any request in writing. Research the person or the company they claim to work for by speaking to friends, family and trusted colleagues or on the internet. If possible visit the head branch, store or head office of the company they say they are from to speak to staff directly. Always take down as much detail about the caller as possible, such as name, telephone number, accent and company they claim to work for and hand into police.
