Telephone fraudsters target Tonbridge pensioners

Tonbridge residents are reminded to be vigilant after phone fraudsters posing as police officers made attempts to trick pensioners into revealing their bank details.

On Monday 21 February 2022, two older people living in the town centre area were contacted by a person, who falsely claimed they worked for the Metropolitan Police.

They were told someone had been arrested trying to take money out of their account. Both became suspicious and terminated the calls.

Chief Inspector Omid Changizi said: ‘These conmen will often try and alarm you by saying there has been fraudulent activity on your bank account, or they have arrested someone using a cloned card in your name. ‘In these cases, the victims correctly became suspicious, and the calls were ended before any information was passed to the fraudsters. ‘A police force will never ask a member of the public for their bank details or money over the phone and if you receive one of these calls I would advise you hang up immediately.'

Further advice

If you are not confident a person claiming to be a police officer is genuine, ask to take their details and then end the call.

Wait for at least five minutes for the call to clear and then contact 101, or 999 in an emergency. A call handler will be able to verify whether your caller was genuine.

Never hand over any money, or other items, to a courier after receiving this type of call.

Report offences

Anybody with information regarding these incidents is urged to call Kent Police on 01622 604100, quoting reference 21-0724.

You can also contact Action Fraud on 0300 1232040, or report suspicious activity online by visiting their website.

The matter can also be reported to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 or by using the online form.