Police warn of spate of telephone scam reports in Ceredigion

Dyfed-Powys Police is warning people to be on their guard after an increase in reports of attempted phone scams in recent days.

11 incidents have been reported in the past two days, with all the potential victims realising the call was a scam and hanging up – but officers fear there could be more people who haven’t realised they have been caught out by scammers yet.

DC Gareth Jordan from Dyfed-Powys Police’s Economic Crime Team said: “We have seen a spike in reports saying they have received phone calls from people pretending to be police officers and telling them that their credit card has been cloned.

“We’ve had 11 such calls in the past two days and they appear to be targeting the Ceredigion area.

“So far no-one has reported any losses, but we may only be hearing from those that recognise this is a scam.

“Often the realisation of these crimes may come weeks later – when the criminal has been successful.”

Paddington

DC Jordan said the caller tells the potential victim they are from Paddington or Paddington Green Police Station Specialist Fraud Team.

If they are calling a landline, they tell the recipient to dial 999 to confirm it is the police, but the line is kept open by the caller.

The aim is to get the victim to either part with their credit card details, or possibly to get them to withdraw money and have it picked up by courier (Courier Fraud).

The Economic Crime Team says the police will never not phone you and ask you to give details of your debit or credit card and will not contact you to tell you your debit or credit card has been cloned.

It also stresses that neither the police or your bank, will ever ask you to withdraw money or transfer it to a different account or ask you to reveal your full banking password or PIN.

People who have received a suspicious call are advised to phone a family member or friend to make sure the line has cleared and then call 101 to report it to the police