Latest from the Fraud Office
Published: 10 May 2022
Kent Fraud Alert System have sent through their latest newsletter, giving details of a variety of current scams.
Banking Scam
From our colleagues at KCC, Kent residents are being targeted by a banking scam, claiming money was taken for an Amazon voucher or international money transfer. The fraudsters are using spoofing technology to make it look like as if the call is coming from a Ashford number. The fraudsters are looking to obtain your personal/financial data.
Use the A, B, C of scam awareness:
• Never Assume a caller, email or text is genuine.
• Never Believe a caller, email or text is genuine.
• Always Confirm by contacting a trusted number, family member, friend, your bank’s fraud department or the police to check if it’s genuine.
If you think that you may have been a victim of this type of scam, then contact your Bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or calling 0300 123 2040.
ATM Scams
There are still a number of scams around this type of criminality, in particular ATM distraction thefts. There have been several reports in Kent recently, where people have been targeted at ATMS. The offenders observe the victims putting in their PIN number before distracting the victim and then use sleight of hand to steal the card, making the
victim believe it has been retained by the machine. The cards are then used at other ATMs nearby and also to make contactless payments for goods.
In order to reduce your chances of being a victim of this type of offence, please see the following advice:
• Always be aware of who is around you when using an ATM to withdraw cash.
• Where possible make use of the cash machine within the bank
• Always put your hand over the keyboard at the ATM when inputting your PIN code
• Try to go in pairs when using an ATM, that way one can keep watch whilst the other withdraws their money. The offenders tend to prey upon lone victims as it is easier to distract one person on their own.
For more details of types of ATM scams click here.
New WhatsApp Scam
Action Fraud have reported that Fraudsters are posing as WhatsApp Support to steal personal and financial information.
The social media scammers are reportedly posing as the official WhatsApp Support account to obtain users personal information.
Their username and profile picture may look just like the support account, but crucially they don’t have the verified badge that any official account will have.
Some scammers may include the verified badge in their profile picture, but users should not fall for this. Posing as the official WhatsApp account, the scammers may ask users for personal information. They may ask for a verification code to gain access to proof of ID.
How to report a WhatsApp scammer
If a scammer posing as the WhatsApp account contacts you, you should block and report them. Report a scammer by long pressing on a single message, opening the context menu, and hitting “report.”
When you report an account, WhatsApp will receive the last five messages sent to you, as well as the user’s ID and details about the message, such as when it was sent, and the type of message. To block them, open the chat and simply tap “block”. They will no longer be able to send you messages.
To view the Kent Fraud Alert System Newsletter in it's entirety, click here.