Police warn communities to be vigilant to scam calls in South Lakes

Police in the South Lakes are urging people to be on their guard against phone fraudsters.

The warning follows an incident reported on Tuesday (October 29) in Kendal where the victim has received a call from people pretending to be police officers.

An incident was also reported a few days earlier in Windermere. 

The person calling raised concerns that someone was trying to take money from the victim’s account. The caller also kept the victim on the call all day.

Investigations show these were not police officers and it was suspected to be an attempt to defraud the victim of money.

Police are asking people to be aware of the following advice.

If you have any concern that the person on the phone may be a fraudster, put the phone down and call the police from a different phone on 101 for advice and guidance.

If you receive a call you’re not expecting, you should be suspicious. The vital things to remember are that the police would:

• Never ask you for your bank account details or PIN number over the phone.

• Never ask you to withdraw money and send it to them via a courier, taxi, bank transfer or by any other means.

• Never ask you to send your bank cards or any other personal property to them via courier, taxi or by any other means.

• If you have any doubts about the identity of the person that you are speaking with, please put the phone down and attend the police station in person, wherever possible, to discuss the call you have received, or call a trusted number for the police using a different telephone than the one that you have been contacted on.

If you think you have been the victim of a fraud you can report this to police on 101 and to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 – or by visiting their website at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/