A county wide warning has been issued following a spike in phone scams which have seen people lose thousands of pounds of their savings.

While most people recognise the scams for what they are, they can have a devastating effect on people’s lives as not only do they lose a large sum of money, their confidence and trust in people is shattered.

On Tuesday, July 14, a man in his late 70s from Wheathampstead received a call.

A woman in her 80s and a man in his 90s, both from Watford were also called.

In these instances, the callers claimed to be police officers stating that they had either arrested a person who had been found in possession of the victims’ bank cards or that they were investigating fraudulent activity on the victims’ accounts. The people called became suspicious and ended the calls with no personal information or money being handed over.

Fraudsters will use a number of tactics to try and convince people that they are genuinely investigating fraudulent activity and that they need people’s bank cards and money as part of an investigation, including offering reference numbers and contact names.

The police and banks would never ask anyone to send them bank cards, money or any other property. This is simply something that would not happen in any circumstances – no matter what a person says or who they claim to be.

If you are not happy with a phone call and are suspicious of the conversation you have with the caller then please end the call and contact police via the non-emergency number, 101.

Remember, when reporting a suspicious phone call to police, wait at least five minutes before attempting to make the call or use a mobile or neighbor’s phone to ensure you’re not reconnected to the offender.