A man has been jailed for 23 months for his part in a courier fraud scheme, which defrauded two people out of a total of £5500.

In May 2023, an 88 year-old woman from Hertfordshire received a call from a man purporting to be a police officer, who informed her that someone alleging to be her granddaughter had been arrested whilst attempting to use her bankcard.

The woman was told to dial 101 to verify that the officer was legitimate, which she did, and the operator confirmed that she was speaking to a genuine officer.

Over the course of two hours, the caller asked the woman questions about her bank, cards and PIN numbers, and told her that her bankcards would be required in order to identify the person they had in custody.

She was informed that she would be visited by a courier who would collect her bankcards, and was told a ‘password’ to exchange with the courier. This exchange went ahead and three bankcards were placed into an envelope and taken away.

Following this, the cards were used to make payments at an Apple Store totalling £1000 and a further £500 was withdrawn from an ATM.

In August 2023, an 89 year-old woman from Portsmouth received a similar call in which she was told by a man purporting to be a police officer that a person had been arrested whilst attempting to use her bankcard.

She was told to call 999 and spoke with a woman who confirmed the caller was an officer and gave her a crime reference number.

The following day, the woman was called again and asked to withdraw £3500 from her bank and was provided with a cover story to tell the bank, should they question the withdrawal.

After withdrawing the money, the woman was told by the caller to put on gloves and read the serial numbers of some of the notes, which she was then informed were counterfeit and would be collected by a courier.

She too was given a password to check with the courier and a man later came to her address to collect the money.

After an extensive investigation by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Economic Crime Unit, 26 year-old Arnaldo Katalay of Gascoigne Way in Billericay, Essex was identified to have collected the money from the woman in Portsmouth and to have been involved in the use of the bankcards collected from the incident in Hertfordshire.

He was arrested in October 2023 and charged with fraud by false representation and acquiring / using / possessing criminal property.

Katalay appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates court on 25 April, where he pleaded guilty to the offences. He appeared again for sentencing at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday 13 June, where he was sentenced to 23 month’s imprisonment.

Officers are urging people to not engage with these type of calls. Victims are typically elderly and officers are asking anyone with an elderly relative, loved one, friend or associate to please make them aware of this scam.

Please remember that:

• Police officers, banks and other organisations such as HMRC will never call people in this way and ask you to withdraw money, buy expensive gold or jewellery or disclose personal or financial information. If someone does do this, please hang up – it will be a scam.
• If someone calls claiming to be a police officer, ask for their ID number and police force. Wait at least five minutes before verifying details with the appropriate Force by calling 101 – do not use any number they provide unless you can confirm it as genuine. Ensure the call has disconnected as scammers will often leave the line open or use another phone altogether. A genuine police officer will not mind waiting while you check their identity (it’s a sign that it is a scam if the person becomes pushy or stresses urgency).
• Take a step back from everything and take a few moments to think. Speak to a trusted friend or relative for their opinion before agreeing to anything. The fraudster’s tactic is often to keep the victim busy talking and isolated. They stress that they should not tell anyone else about the call.
• Your bank or the police will never send a courier or taxi to your home to collect cash, bank cards, PINs or other valuable goods.
• If you are a friend, relative or carer of someone you think might be vulnerable to this type of scam, please speak to them about this advice. You might be the only person who can stop them from being scammed.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of fraud, report it to us by calling 101. If a crime is in progress, dial 999.

You can make yourself aware of this type of scam and how to protect yourself by visiting the Action Fraud website (https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/) or by calling them on 0300 123 2040.