A 65-year-old man has become the latest Sussex victim of bank account scammers.

The man from Northiam near Hastings believed he was transferring more than £8,000 to a new account, when in fact he was passing details that allowed fraudsters to steal his money.

The man was called on Wednesday March 19 by a woman claiming to be from Visa security telling him there had been fraudulent activity on his account.

When the victim appeared suspicious, the caller advised him to ring the number shown on his bank card in order to convince him that the call was genuine.

After discussions which he described as "completely plausible", the victim was advised the safest option was to open a new account and he then proceeded to give details to facilitate this.

But it is thought the fraudsters had kept the line open after their initial call and then pretended to be the bank in order to glean the information they needed to empty his account.

Similar scams have recently been reported in the Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea area. Fraudsters sometimes send a 'courier' purporting to be from the bank to collect what the victim believes to be his or her compromised debit card.

Access is then gained to the account and cash stolen.

Detective Inspector Rob Morland said such scams were heartless and often targeted trusting or vulnerable members of society.

He stressed: "Whatever someone is told, under no circumstances would the police or a bank request your PIN number or personal details over the telephone or arrange collection of your bank cards from your home address, as has happened in some instances.”

Anyone who believes they have been a victim of such a crime should contact Sussex Police via 101 or email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk quoting Operation Edisto.

 

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