Scam telephone calls from bogus officials

Gloucestershire Constabulary are warning our communities of a telephone scam targeting the county. We have received eight reports over the last three weeks from local residents reporting this scam. In each case the caller purported to be either a police officer or bank official. Those targeted were aged between 69 and 93 years old. They were each told that their bank account had been compromised, and were instructed to withdraw cash. They were then told that the cash was counterfeit and had to be handed over as “evidence”. One victim was instructed to send cash in the post. The persona “DC BARCLAY" was used in three of the reports.

Please help us to raise awareness of this scam by discussing it with your family, friends and neighbours.

If you receive a call like this, hang up straight away and use a different phone to report to us on 101. Please remember that Your Community Alerts is NOT a crime-reporting channel. You can learn more about reporting fraud and keeping yourself at the government's Stop! Think Fraud website.

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