More than £40,000 lost to courier fraud in the last year in Warwickshire

People are being urged to be vigilant after data revealed that more than £40,000 was lost to courier fraud in Warwickshire last year.

Across the country, people in their 80s are most likely to be targeted by criminals carrying out courier fraud, with this age range accounting for 43 per cent of all victims, data from Action Fraud shows.

Nationally, more than £28.7million was lost to courier fraud.

Courier fraud occurs when people are contacted by persons purporting to be police officers, or bank officials and duped into handing over money, valuables or bank cards, which are collected from their home address, often by couriers. The criminals use a variety of different tactics, often claiming that there is a problem with your account and they need your help to catch the real criminals. 

The victim may also be encouraged into handing over their bank cards and PINs, as well as high value items such as jewellery, watches and gold (coins or bullion). Victims can also be coerced into going out and buying items such as gold and jewellery from legitimate retailers on behalf of criminals.

There were 16 reports made in Warwickshire with an average loss of £2,617 loss per victim. Across the country the average loss per victim was £20,032.

Detective Sergeant Paul Hainsworth from the Warwickshire Police Economic Crime Team said: “These kinds of criminals prey on some of the most vulnerable members of our community. If you have elderly friends, relatives or neighbours please talk to them about the dangers of courier fraud and urge them to be vigilant.

“The important thing to remember is the police or your bank will never call asking you to transfer or withdraw money. They will never send someone round to collect cash or cards form you. If in doubt hang up and use a different phone to call us on 101. Remember criminals can keep the line open so it is important to use a different phone.”

Detective Sergeant Victoria O’Keefe, from the Lead Force Operations Room at the City of London Police, said: “This is a particularly nasty crime type often resulting in significant psychological harm and financial loss to victims, many of whom are living alone and suffering age-related illness.

“Many elderly people rely on their landline phone to stay connected to the outside world and for peace of mind, we would recommend protecting loved ones from fraudulent calls by getting a call blocking device fitted.

“If you hear that your friend or loved one is being contacted out of the blue by the police or the bank and asked to withdraw money, handover bank cards or make purchases, report it to the police immediately. “

The National Economic Crime Centre, in the National Crime Agency, provided funding to support the intensification period, and helped to coordinate alongside City of London Police.

A total of 100 trueCall blocker devices were also purchased and offered to victims across the country during the two-week period.

Call blockers filter unwanted scam and nuisance calls and stop them from getting through to the person’s landline. The devices allow calls through from a trusted caller list set by the user for friends, family members, doctors and any other trusted contacts. To find out more about call blockers, visit  www.truecall.co.uk.

City of London Police previously worked with trueCall as part of an initiative in 2021 to install call blockers in the homes of residents living in the city.