Five people have been arrested as part of an investigation into a large-scale phone scam series across the country.
Officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police Service executed warrants at six addresses in North London on Tuesday (November 29) and arrested five men on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering.
The arrested men are:
• A 22-year-old man from Camden
• A 20-year-old man from Camden
• A 22-year-old man from Camden
• A 22-year-old man from Camden
• A 22-year-old man from Barnet
All five have been released on police bail pending further enquiries.
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.
* Operation Manhunt is Hertfordshire Constabulary’s a specialist team which investigates distraction burglary and other crimes which target the elderly and vulnerable.
