Around 12.30pm on May 31, a woman in her 70s received a phone call from a man claiming to be an officer with the Inland Revenue.
While on the phone they informed her she owed a considerable amount in unpaid taxes. Before the call they had obtained various details regarding the aggrieved and relayed this to her in a professional way convincing her they were genuine.
Fortunately the woman spoke to a friend who warned her it was a scam and brought her to the police station to report the incident.
Police want to raise awareness of the fraudsters and are urging anyone with information to contact officers.
Det Con Paul Price, of Skelmersdale CID, said: “This was a terrifying experience for the aggrieved and it has left her shaken and vulnerable.
“The male on the phone was extremely intimidating, threatening the aggrieved with immediate arrest unless she complied.
“The operation run by the fraudsters was extremely professional in its execution. They had a call centre, masked their number with that of the Inland Revenue and had researched the victim prior to the call.
“They can sound extremely convincing to people not used to dealing with financial issues and are oppressive in their tone.
“I encourage the public to be vigilant when they receive calls requesting money or financial details.”
The police or any other agency will not request members of the public to access money from their bank accounts. Any suspicious calls should be reported to police on 101 immediately and under no circumstances should money be given to any individual at your home address or an arranged point. These offenders target the most vulnerable in society.
Anyone with information about any similar reports in the Up Holland area can call Det Con Paul Price or Det Con Dawn Croucher on (01695) 566170 quoting log number 0760 of May 31.
For more information go to: socsi.in/Bhub4
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