Pensioners targeted in phone scam

Police issue warning after reports of a telephone scam in which victims are persuaded to disclose their PIN numbers and hand over their banks cards. On Tuesday 12 March, we received reports of two incidents in the New Forest, in which the victims were called by someone claiming to be from their bank. In the first incident, a 90-year-old man from New Milton was called by someone who claimed to be from his bank. The caller said the man was due to receive a new bank card, and asked if he would like to continue using the PIN code from his current card. During the course of the conversation, the victim disclosed his PIN number. A man then came to the man’s address and collected the current card, and gave the victim two gift cards. A total of £500 was then withdrawn from the victim’s account. A similar method was used in the second incident. A total of £1,190 was taken from the victim, an 85-year-old woman from Ringwood. The man who collected her bank card was described as black, 5ft 11ins tall, of medium build, curly/wavy hair and was wearing a hi-vis jacket. Both incidents are being treated as linked. We would like to take this opportunity to remind people that banks will never ask to disclose your PIN number in this way. They will not send a courier to collect your old bank card either. If you get a call like this, please hang up and use a different line to report the incident via 101, or call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

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