A RESIDENT made the grim discovery that she had been conned out of thousands of pounds after calling 101 to check a scammers elaborate plan was still going ahead.

On August 12, the Drayton resident had a call out of the blue from a 'sergeant' claiming to be from Thames Valley Police.

When questioned, he gave his 'badge number' and proceeded to make up an elaborate lie to trick the victim into handing over her life savings.

He said that police officers had arrested a woman in Bicester who had been caught trying to use her 'cloned card' to buy something for £700.

Read more: what is courier fraud?

The bogus sergeant named her as a NatWest employee and claimed that she had been making counterfeit money at the Abingdon branch for years.

The victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, was asked to help in the investigation and give evidence at court.

Her first task was to go into the branch 'undercover' and withdraw £2,900 from her account.

A separate call from 'Caroline' at the 'NatWest Fraud Bureau' confirmed she should do this – however this was just part of the scam.

When she returned back from the bank with the money she was asked to read out the serial numbers of each bank note to 'Caroline' who said they were 'fake' – this was another lie and the money was actually real.

She followed orders and put the 'fake' cash into an envelope, writing a code number on it ready for a non-uniformed 'police courier' to collect later that day.

Read more: innocent taxi drivers don't realise they're in on the plot

Because the victim had only just moved to the area and didn't know her way around, the scammer agreed to send a police car to driver her to Oxford Magistrates' Court the following day to give evidence.

But in the morning when the car didn't arrive she called 101, the non-emergency police number to check everything was running smoothly.

She gave them the reference numbers from 'Caroline' and the 'sergeant' but was told by the call handler on the end of the line that everything had been a lie and she had just been scammed.

She said: "A lifetime of respect for authority of police had served me ill."

Read more: adopt don't shop - the adorable cats looking for a new home

She said her neighbours had also fallen victim to a similar scam and had handed over £6,000.

The crime is known as 'courier fraud' and Thames Valley Police said it had responded to at least 80 reports in the past seven months.

Oxford Mail:

This poster is printer friendly and can be given to neighbours as a reference.

  • The police and other agencies will never as you to move money into a safe account, ask you to reveal your banking PIN or full password.
  • Police won't typically call up out of the blue
  • Scammers always act with urgency using words like ‘now’, ‘quick’, and ‘don’t delay’.
  • Anybody can be targeted but the large majority are over 70-years-old.
  • If a scammer calls you, or you are unsure if you are being scammed, hang up and call back a familiar number – often they stay on the other end of the line
  • Stop, challenge and protect: take a moment to think about parting with your money or information, question whether the call is fake and know that it is okay to hang up, refuse or ignore calls, protect yourself and your money.
  • If you have fallen victim to a scam call action fraud on 0300 123 2040
  • In an emergency always call 999. To report a crime call police on 101.