Gravesend couple lose thousands of pounds to fake police officer
16:16, 13 January 2020
updated: 16:23, 13 January 2020
A couple in their 70s fell victim to a fraudster claiming to be a London-based policeman.
The pensioners, who come from the Riverview Park area of Gravesend, received a call from a man on Monday, December, 30.
He said officers had noticed fraudulent activity on their credit card and said they’d arrested two people in connection with it.
The victims were made to believe other residents had been targeted too.
They were asked to provide their mobile phone numbers and then drive to numerous banks and cash machines withdrawing large amounts of money under the impression they were assisting with a covert operation.
The couple were then told someone would visit their home to collect the money the following day.
A man described as Asian, in his early 20s, around 5ft 9ins tall and wearing a plain black tracksuit, arrived in a black Citroen car, collected the money and left.
On January, 2, the victims were asked to withdraw even more money and confirm when they would be home for it to be collected.
No one arrived to collect the extra money and when the victims called the police to follow it up, the scam was uncovered.
Officers are now urging other residents to be on guard against such scams.
Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Marc Cananur said: "It is extremely upsetting and confusing for victims when they realise they have been targeted as in nearly all cases the fraudsters can seem highly credible.
"We will never send a courier to your home to collect your bank card, money or other items and will never ask for cash, valuables, or your pin.
"Banks won’t do this either and so it's very important that you report anything suspicious to the police straight away."
To report incidents of courier fraud, call police on 101 or Action Fraud on 0300 1232040.
You can also report non-urgent crimes online: www.kent.police.uk
