Sutton Police are concerned that the ‘bank courier’ fraud seems to have returned to our borough. The scam involves residents, mostly elderly, being contacted at their home by telephone from a caller pretending to be from their bank. The caller will say that there is some kind of problem with their bank cards. The resident is asked for their PIN number and told that a ‘courier’ will come around to collect their old bank cards before new cards can be issued.

During September two residents – one aged 87 and another aged 72 – lost a total of more than £8,000 after their cards were collected and then used to make withdrawals and purchases
Police advise residents not to reveal their bank details or PIN to anyone including their bank. Banks will already have these details and will never ask to collect your bank cards. If you are called by someone who asks for these, hang up and use a different line to report the call to police on 101 or allow at least five minutes for the line to automatically clear. Also don’t give your bank cards to strangers whatever reason they may give you to part with them. Such requests are likely to be a scam to steal your money.

This scam, which is known as the bank courier scam, was being widely reported to police across London during 2013-14 – with 34 reported offences in Sutton during this period. After a police-led campaign (with the support of local organisations) to raise awareness of the scam, the number of reports greatly reduced. However, police in Sutton are starting to see a rise in the number of these offences and detectives are urging the public to keep up their guard. We would be most grateful if you could spread this message throughout your organisations and to your service users and also to pass on to anyone at risk or anyone else who may be able to promote this crime prevention message. Many thanks for your help and support.