Nottinghamshire woman loses £35,000 to courier fraudsters

A string of fraudulent transactions were made, police said

Police have issued a warning about courier fraud after a woman was scammed out of more than £35,000.

Nottinghamshire Police said the woman, in her 70s, was persuaded to hand over bank cards to a courier who claimed he was working for the police.

The force said the woman, who lives in the Broxtowe area, was one of three victims targeted in the county in recent weeks.

Investigators said the culprits were "very convincing".

All of the victims had been called by someone claiming to work for their bank, or the police, pretending to be investigating fraud.

They were told their cards needed to be checked and convinced them to give the cards to couriers sent to their homes, officers said.

They later discovered fraudulent transactions had been made.

A victim, in her 40s and from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, discovered her cards had been used in Nottingham and Birmingham.

The third victim, from Bingham, found two mobile phones had been purchased with her card.

Lucy Kennedy, from the force's fraud protection team, said: "These individuals are very convincing and have various different tactics to gain your trust."

She said genuine bank staff and police officers would never phone people and ask for their PIN numbers or ask to collect their cards.

Anyone who gets such a call is urged to report it to their bank immediately.