Man arrested for Derby courier frauds

A man has been arrested in connection with several courier frauds in the Derby area.

Two weeks ago, we first made you aware of reports we had received of a scam affecting people in the city.

Victims of this scam had received calls from someone purporting to be a police officer.

A man claiming to be a DC Matthew Phillips had telephoned people, telling them about fraudulent activity on their bank account and that they need to withdraw cash and meet someone to hand the money over.

In one such case, on 27 April a 72-year-old man was scammed out of several thousand pounds.

Yesterday a 33-year-old man from Burton-Upon-Trent was arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation.

He has since been released under investigation pending further enquiries.

If you receive such a call, you should not give out any personal information and hang up the call immediately.

The police will never contact you asking for banking information or request that you withdraw money from an account, purchase gold bullion or high-value jewellery to aid an investigation.

Fraudsters often target geographical areas where they know elderly or vulnerable people live, so we would ask that if you have family or friends who are vulnerable in any way that you make them aware of this scam.

If you, or someone you know, receives a call of this nature please contact us as soon as possible. We will then assess the area that is being targeted, alert the banks and endeavour to protect other local residents to prevent any financial loss.

Should you receive one of these calls, we advise you to end the call, wait five minutes and ensure you can hear a dial tone before calling us on 101. To call your bank, please use the number found on the back of your card.  All reports of this nature also need to be reported to Action Fraud 0300 120 2040 or online https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

You can contact Derbyshire police via the following methods:

• Facebook – send us a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary
• Twitter – direct message our contact centre on @DerPolContact
• Website – complete the online contact form derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us.
• Phone – call us on 101.

You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing you can also text on 07800 002414 or email us at [email protected]