Chesterfield residents urged to be careful after further reports of scammers posing as police officers

Derbyshire Police have received more reports of scammers posing as police officers on the phone to convince people to give them cash. These reports have come from Chesterfield, Matlock, Bakewell and South Wingfield.

Different names and reasons are being given in calls to victims, but the fraudsters are telling people that they are a genuine police officer and that they need to call 999 to verify their identity.

After the victim hangs up to make that 999 call, the scammer keeps the line open and manipulates them during the second call – making them believe that their card has been cloned and used in areas of London.

They say arrests are going to be made and convince the caller to assist the investigation by transferring large amounts of money to other accounts.

Officers will never ask anyone to transfer large amounts of money into other accounts to help with any investigations.

If you receive a call like this, you should not give out any personal information and hang up immediately.

Please contact us as soon as possible so we can assess the area that is being targeted, alert the banks and work to protect other local residents to prevent any financial loss.

Fraudsters often target geographical areas where they know elderly or vulnerable people live. People are urged to make any vulnerable family or friends aware of this scam.

After ending the call, wait for five minutes or so and make sure you can hear dial tone before calling Derbyshire Police on 101.

To call your bank, please use the number found on the back of your card. Incidents of this nature also need to be reported to Action Fraud by calling them at 0300 120 2040 or visiting their website.

You can contact Derbyshire Police using any of the following methods:

Facebook – send a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary

Twitter – direct message the force’s contact centre on @DerPolContact

Website – complete the online contact form

If you are deaf or hard of hearing you can also text Derbyshire Police on 07800 002414 or email at [email protected].

You can also anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111, or by visiting the CrimeStoppers website.

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