North Wales Police urge vigilance over courier fraud

North Wales Police are urging residents to protect themselves against courier fraud following a recent increase in cases across the force area.

In a warning issued this week, police said:
“North Wales Police are urging residents to protect themselves against courier fraud. This is due to a rise in courier fraud in the force area whereby vulnerable people have been exploited out of their money and personal information. Sadly, the most common victims of courier fraud are the elderly.”

In the latest scams, victims have received calls from fraudsters pretending to be from their bank.
“In the most recent cases, the fraudster has telephoned their victim and claimed to be from their bank. Victims have been advised that their bank card has been used fraudulently and that the victim’s bank accounts are at risk. Victims have then been conned into revealing their PIN and debit card details.”

Courier fraud is often difficult to recognise because the scam can feel urgent and convincing.
“Courier fraud can be difficult to spot, especially when you are being put under pressure and you believe you are speaking to a bank official in an urgent situation. Fraudsters are able to impersonate phone numbers to appear to be your bank and may know your personal information, which is how they convince you to trust them.”

Police are reminding people that legitimate banks will never request cards or PINs via phone.
“It’s important to remember that your debit or credit card is yours and you should only ever hand it to someone at the bank. If you are told it needs to be collected by courier or asked to send it through the postal service, then this is probably a scam and you should end the call immediately.”

They added:
“The bank will never phone to ask for your full PIN or banking password, or send someone to your home to collect cash, PINs, cards or cheque books. Please take the time to speak to any elderly relatives or neighbours that you have to make sure that they are aware of this as they are most likely to be targeted.”

North Wales Police are asking anyone who believes they may have been targeted to report it via Action Fraud or contact the police directly.