Hampshire Police is urging people to be vigilant after an Uber driver raised the alarm over a suspected courier fraud scam.

The driver called police at 6.30pm on Wednesday 11 June. He reported that earlier that day, he had accepted a ride request to transport documents from an address in Winchester to one in London.

After the driver had collected two parcels from a woman at the Winchester address, the customer changed the drop off location to a car park in Watford.

The driver reported that when he arrived, a man who had his face partially covered, approached the vehicle, and gave a name that was not associated with the booking.

The taxi driver became suspicious, refused to hand over the packages, and told the man he would report it to the authorities, at which point the man ran from the car park.

The driver then returned to Hampshire and called the police. The packages, containing £6,000 in cash and bank cards, were later handed over to officers.

Following enquiries, officers spoke to the victim, a woman in her 70s, who had given the packages to the driver.

She said that at midday that day, she had received a call from a man purporting to be a police officer investigating fraud at a bank.

He said that her card had been cloned and persuaded her to take part in a covert operation by withdrawing £6,000 from her bank, which she did. She was directed to give a false explanation for the cash withdrawal, to avoid alerting bank staff. She was then told to put the cash and her bank cards in two packages and hand it to an ‘evidence collector’.

She later became suspicious of the call and contacted her banks to freeze her accounts.

An investigation is underway and enquiries are ongoing.

The police force has seen a notable increase in reports of this type of fraud in the force area in June.

Detective Constable Mike Dumbleton, from Hampshire & Isle of Wight’s Economic Crime Investigation Team, said: “Firstly, the driver did the right thing – he trusted his instincts that something wasn’t right, reported it to us, and the result is that the victim is not at a loss of £6,000.

“While this is not the usual method for courier fraud, we would encourage all private hire drivers to be aware of this scam, in case they get requests to transport packages in this way. Please be suspicious, especially if the person you collect the package from is elderly or vulnerable in any way.  If you think it is a scam, please report it to us.

“Courier fraud typically involves fraudsters calling victims and claiming to be from a bank, the police, or another law enforcement agency.

“They often target older people and persuade victims to disclose financial information, or withdraw money, for someone to collect later. Victims are often told this is part of an investigation and are persuaded to not tell anyone about it.

“Police officers, banks or other organisations would never contact people in this way and ask you to withdraw money or disclose such information. If someone calls and asks you to do so, please hang up, as it will be a scam.”

More crime prevention advice can be found here: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/personal-fraud/door-to-door-courier-fraud/

If you or someone you know has been a victim of fraud, report it to us by calling 101. If a crime is in progress, dial 999.

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