Residents in the district are being asked to be extra vigilant if they have an online shopping account this Christmas due to a new scam that is being investigated by local policing teams.
Local police are investigating the possibility that criminals are obtaining personal details of residents in the Lancaster, Morecambe and Carnforth district and then setting up a new Amazon account using the victim's name, address and mobile number. However they use a different email address. The offenders then pay for a number of low value items to be sent to the victim's home address and then contact the victim after the items have been delivered stating that they are from a FRAUD INVESTIGATION TEAM and ask the victim if they have received any packages from Amazon. The offenders are fully aware of all the details of the items they received and use this information to gain the trust of the victim to then request they confirm their bank details so that they can refund them for the items. The offenders would then either withdraw money from the account or use it to pay for goods.
Lancashire Police remind residents that Action Fraud would not contact them over the phone and never ask people to provide or confirm your bank details. They said. "If any company contacts you and tells you that you have been a victim of a scam, have a Direct Debit that has been changed, that your in debt or that an arrest warrant may be issued if you fail to take certain action then please be aware. Please thank the caller for the information and contact the company/bank directly using a contact number from a trusted source. Never use any number provided by the person you have spoken to or take it from any email or website which they have directed you to.
If you are the victim of a fraud or attempted fraud then please report this to Action Fraud (0300 123 2040) and in this case the company being used with the fake account so that they can conduct their own investigation and close the account.
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