Bogus bankers steal £1,000s from Selby farmers

Five local farms have been targeted over the past 10 days by men purporting to be part of their bank's fraud investigation team. Each time the callers have asked the farms to transfer large amounts of money into bogus accounts.

The scam involved telling the business that someone has attempted to cash a cheque on their account for £11,500. The account holder is then urged to transfer their money into what the bogus bankers claim are “safe accounts”.

As part of the scam, account holders are told not mention the “investigation” to their bank, claiming local bank staff are being investigated for fraud against them.

In some incidents recorded by police so far, the scammers have asked the victim to call the number on the back of their bank card where, unbeknown to the victim, they have held the phone line open. The result of which meaning the victim's call to their bank is then intercepted by the fraudsters.

In one such call the victim was passed around several male “call handlers” who claimed they were investigating the fraud and that the victim’s other bank accounts were not safe. They successfully scammed the victim into transferring a large amount of money into their bogus safe account.

In another case, the victim became suspicious and stopped the phone call before transferring any money.

However, another victim sadly lost their entire life savings.

Police are warning bank customers not to be taken in by anyone asking them to transfer money, calling them out of the blue, or asking them to make a phone call to their bank.

Detective Constable Amanda Bostwick of Selby CID, said: “The suspects in these cases are very convincing and knew who the customers banked with and in some cases, how much they had in their accounts. We strongly advice anyone who receives such a call not to engage with the caller, put the phone down and to call their bank in the usual way. Always take care that the line is clear before you make a call. If it is convenient, call in person at your bank to discuss your account if you are worried.”

Officers have issued the following advice if anyone is contacted:

Do not transfer money to an unknown bank account either online or in person.
Do not pass any personal information over the phone or in person to any cold callers.
Always check with your bank if you are called by anyone claiming to be from a bank fraud investigation team.
When you make the phone call, always ensure that you have a dialing tone before making the call or use a different phone line to the one the fraudsters have called on.
Protect your identity and always ensure you destroy or shred any documents containing personal information before disposing of them.
Don’t use makeshift post boxes at the end of your drive where identity thieves can pick up your post
If you believe you have been a victim of bank fraud please contact your bank in the first instance and report it to your local police on 101.

Visit the Action Fraud website for more information about fraud, how to avoid it and what to do if you are a victim www.actionfraud.police.uk