Over the few days Kent police have received various calls from Swale residents reporting that they have received phone calls from someone claiming to be a police officer. They give a fake police officer name and force number and state they are part of the Economical Crime Team at Sittingbourne Police Station (There isn’t such a department). They claim there have been some irregularities spotted within the bank account of the person they are calling before requesting the person hangs up and calls the police. The criminal pretending to be a police officer will keep the line open their end and when the poor victim calls 999, they will pretend to be a police call taker where they then ask for the victim’s bank details.

It is highly likely the fraudsters may begin to target other areas of Kent, so please be alert!

Residents of Swale have reported receiving a call to their landline from a criminal impersonating a police officer.

The criminals claim to work for Kent police or Met Police.
The names reported as being used in this current scam are: DC /PC Matthew Riley, DC/PC James Maddison , DC/PC James Matterson , DCI Alex Smith , DC John Jones, DC Daniel Williamson, DC Andrew Davis, Dc James Atkins, DC Michael Palmer

However criminals can use any names and/or say they are calling from specific police stations.

🚨If you receive a call similar to this, it is a SCAM!🚨

This type of crime is highly sophisticated, and the criminals are well trained in what they are doing. Please can you all spread this message far and wide and if there is anyone with access to local Facebook Village pages, please can you ask they publish this on there so we can warn as many people of this scam and prevent people becoming a victim of this. There have now been 10 calls from Swale residents today alone and these are only those reporting it; there will be many more and unfortunately it is quite often that those who become victims of this type of crime don’t report it through embarrassment. The calls have thus far very much been targeting the elderly and the pattern appear to be alphabetical through the phone book for those with Swale addresses.

Please see attached the below link which details what to do if you are unsure as to whether the person calling you is a genuine police officer.

https://www.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/how-to-check-an-officers-identity/#:~:text=How%20to%20check,123%202040.

🚨 This is a SCAM!🚨

The Police will NEVER ask you for financial details, request you to withdraw cash or purchase gift cards, foreign currency or high value goods and police will NEVER ask you to lie.

Protect yourself from fraud with the A B C of fraud:

Never ASSUME – Never assume a caller is genuine. Criminals may know basic information about you.

Never BELIEVE – Never believe a caller is genuine – scammers can ‘spoof’ official telephone numbers, so the call display may show as an official number such as the police or banks telephone number, but it does not mean it is a genuine call.

Always CONFIRM – always confirm if the call is genuine – Ask the caller for their name and badge number. Tell the caller you will hang up and call back to confirm.

To ensure the criminals are still not on the line, use an alternative phone and call police on 101 and ask if it was a genuine call.
If you do not have another phone to hand, call a trusted friend or family member first, to ensure the line is cleared, or you can unplug the landline, wait for 10 minutes and then call police to confirm.

🚨 If a courier arrives at your property ring 999.

☎️ If this has happened to you report it to Kent Police on 101. If you have provided financial information or made payment, contact your bank as soon as possible by calling 159.