Detective Chief Inspector Ian Wilson, from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Economic Crime Unit, is urging people to be extra vigilant after nine reports of this type of scam occurring in Belfast were made between Wednesday 7th December and Tuesday, 6th December. Those targeted are being contacted by the fraudsters on the phone, pretending to be from ‘The Police’ or ‘PSNI’ and, in some cases, they’ve mentioned they’re officers from specific stations. In most of the incidents reported, scammers say they’re calling in relation to fraudulent activity and ask if there’s money in the house. Some have been told not to tell anyone about the call while others have been told to leave money in a bag outside their home for the scammer to collect. No money has been lost in any of the incidents reported this week, the majority of which targeted people aged from their mid to late seventies to nineties. Detective Chief Inspector Wilson said it’s really important people are aware of this type of scam, which also came to light in Northern Ireland last year and saw four men charged with fraud by false representation.
