Surrey Police: Officers continue to spread the word about scams in East Surrey

Uniformed officers, detectives from CID and Crime Reduction Advisors are continuing their fight against fraudsters targeting the elderly and vulnerable in East Surrey by educating shoppers in Leatherhead. Officers descended on various banks in the town including Santander, HSBC, Nat West, Nationwide and Lloyds TSB for several hours on Thursday, 22 January. During this time they spoke with numerous people and handed out leaflets and information booklets as part of the engagement event. Leading the operation for East Surrey, Detective Chief Inspector Antony Archibald, said: "Events like the one held in Leatherhead are an excellent way of engaging with the public and spreading the message about these despicable crimes. "Our officers and detectives were able to say ‘I'm a police officer and I would never ask you for bank security information or for you to withdraw money for me' a message which I hope people took notice of. If someone does purport to be a police officer and asks these questions the answer is simple, it is a scam. "Thankfully we continue to receive calls from people who tell us they have received a call of this nature but they suspected fraud and did not hand over their details or money, we need everyone to hear this message, because just one more victim is one too many. "We all have a part to play in preventing these offences which is why we spoke to a range of people during our engagement day, we educated those likely to be a target as well as urging others to speak with their elderly relatives and friends about the dangers these fraudsters pose. "The media have been fantastic in helping us spread the message to their audiences and I hope we can continue with this coverage until everyone has heard this message and those responsible are caught. "I would like to thank all those who have assisted with our prevent advice including local organisations, businesses, banks and charities who continue to support our investigation.” Although the offender usually claims to be a police officer from a London or other local police station and of Detective Inspector or Detective Chief Inspector rank using various aliases to convince the victim. It is believed a number of groups of people may be involved in the offences. Last week (Monday, 19 January – Sunday, 25 January), five offences were reported in the following areas of East Surrey: On Tuesday, 20 January a woman in her late 60s from Epsom received a call but no money was handed over. On Thursday, 22 January a woman in her late 80s from Leatherhead received a call but no money was handed over. On Friday, 23 January a man in his early 60s from Epsom received a call before being conned out of handing over security details and around £40,000 being removed from his account. The same day, a woman in her 90s from Leatherhead also received a call but no money/security details were handed over. On Saturday, 24 January a woman in her late 80s from Ashtead received a call and handed over £2,800 to a courier. As part of their investigation into these offences officers are releasing a CCTV still of a woman they would like to trace as they believe she may hold valuable information. Anyone who can identify the woman in the attached image is asked to contact Surrey Police quoting reference 45140088013. Anyone who has information on any of the offences mentioned is urged to report these to Surrey Police online at https://my.surrey.police.uk/splonlinereportingweb or by calling 101.