What is it?
Courier fraud occurs when a criminal contacts you by phone and convinces you that you are required to hand over money or your debit/credit card for a legitimate reason to someone who will pick this up.
You’re contacted by phone from someone claiming to be a police officer or someone from your bank. The caller might be able to confirm some easily obtainable information about you such as your full name and address.
After gaining your trust, the criminals might claim:
- Their systems have spotted a fraudulent payment on your card or it is due to expire and needs to be replaced.
- There is an investigation that requires you to withdraw money and hand it over to a police officer or courier, which will be returned to you once the investigation is complete.
- You need to purchase expensive items that you’ll be asked to hand to a courier for examination.
- Some money has been removed from your bank account and that corrupt staff at your local bank branch are responsible. You’re advised that someone at the branch has already been arrested but the “police” need you to withdraw your money for evidence.
- That a business, such as a jeweller or currency exchange, is operating fraudulently and they require assistance to help secure evidence.
In these scenarios, the criminals will often tell you not to speak to anyone else about the investigation and promise you will get your money back. They may ask you to lie to your bank or bypass security measures – it is essential that you follow any warnings from your bank and never lie to your bank.
They may offer to send a courier to collect your money, or bank card and PIN. They ask you to write down your PIN and place it in a separate envelope to that of your card.
How to protect yourself from courier fraud
- Never hand over your card: Your bank or the police will never ring you to tell you they are coming to your home to pick up money or your card. Never hand these over to anyone who comes to collect it.
- Take Five to stop and think: Criminals are experts at impersonating banks, trusted organisations or the police. They will try to rush and panic you into responding to their requests. It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore these requests.
- Always speak to your bank securely: If you’re contacted out of the blue, you can always call your bank back on a number you know to be correct. Hang up and wait five minutes before you call your bank, as criminals may stay on the line. Alternatively, use a different line altogether to call your bank.
Examples of courier fraud
Detected fraudulent activity
Rita had been living on her own ever since her husband died a decade ago. She was about to grab her walking frame and tend to her garden when the phone rang. She noted it was the bank’s number so picked up instantly. The caller confirmed Rita’s full name and address before informing her of suspicious activity that had been detected on her account. She was asked to call back using the number on the back of her bank card to confirm the call was genuine. Clearly distressed, Rita rang back immediately, not realising that the criminal had kept the line open and she was now talking to his accomplice!
The caller told Rita that a courier would arrive outside her house shortly to pick up both her bank card and PIN, which she should place in separate envelopes, in order to spare her the trouble of walking to her local bank branch to resolve the issue. She could expect to receive a replacement card within the next couple of days.
An hour later, Rita heard a knock on the door and handed over both envelopes containing her bank card and her PIN to the courier.
Number spoofing is a tactic used by criminals to trick you into thinking you’re being contacted by your bank or a trusted organisation. Your caller ID may seem to be displaying the number from the back of your bank card, but this could be a scam. Criminals are able to spoof numbers by downloading software that allows them to make any outbound calls appear as the number they’ve chosen to spoof in an attempt to trick you into revealing your personal or financial information or to make payment.
Assistance with a police investigation into corruption
Ken’s reached for the phone as it rang continuously. He rarely received calls, so this was a surprise. He heard the caller introduce himself as a police officer, who informed him of an investigation that was taking place into corrupt bank staff members and that his co-operation was paramount for an investigation at his local branch. All Ken had to do was to withdraw all of his money from his local bank branch, and hand it over to a courier who would be waiting outside the branch. The money would be returned to him once the investigation was complete.
The policeman stressed to Ken the importance of not informing the bank staff members the reason for his large withdrawal for fear of tipping them off so provided Ken with a cover story to answer any questions that may be raised.
Ken headed to the bank straight away. The branch staff asked lots of questions but he stuck to the story that he’d be told to provide and withdrew most of his life savings before handing it over to the courier that was waiting outside. It was only when Ken didn’t hear from the police officer for a few days, that he decided to call the bank, using the number from the back of his card, and was advised that he’d fallen for a cruel scam.
