Five arrested over phone scams

The men, who are all from Camden, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering.

The arrests were made as part of an investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Operation Manhunt* unit into a series of up to 90 phone scam offences, also known as courier fraud.

In the majority of cases, elderly victims were reportedly contacted by people claiming to be from the police, stating they were investigating fraudulent activity on their bank accounts. The callers then asked the victims to withdraw large sums of money from their accounts and hand it over to a courier.

In total, around £280,000 was taken, with the majority of offences occurring across Hertfordshire and London.

Detective Sergeant Jon Leak, from Operation Manhunt, said: “We will continue to do all we can to track down those suspected of being involved in courier fraud and to bring offenders to justice.

“We have done a lot of work to raise awareness of these scams but we need people to continue spreading the word to elderly friends, relatives and neighbours to help prevent more people falling victim to them.

“Please remember that police and banks would never ask for your PIN over the phone and would never ask you to withdraw cash and hand it to a courier. If you receive a call you are suspicious of, please hang up and alert the police. Remember to wait at least five minutes, or use a mobile phone to ensure you aren’t reconnected to the offender.”

Anyone who thinks they may have been targeted should report it to police via the non-emergency number 101.