People warned to be vigilant following number of fraud attempts

People in Fermanagh and Omagh have been warned to be wary of scammers following a number of recent incidents.

In one instance, police said an individual received a phone call from a person claiming to represent their bank and was tricked into believing money had been taken from their account and that a new card and reader was going to be issued to them.

When the promised new card and reader arrived, the fraudster again made contact with the victim by phone and talked them through entering their card details into the reader.

The following day, the victim discovered a number of large withdrawals from their account and that a number of other payments had subsequently been stopped by the bank due to their suspicious nature.

In another report in recent days, a victim fell prey to a bogus tradesman via a social media listing.

This resulted in the payment of a large deposit without any work being carried out.

The tradesman then deleted their social media listing and was unreachable via the previously provided phone number.

In a third case a man received a request for money from someone claiming to be his daughter, via WhatsApp. The man knew this to be a scam and did not respond.

District commander Superintendent Robert McGowan said: “Financial fraud and scams can take a wide variety of different forms with criminals contacting would-be victims via telephone, websites, on WhatsApp, social media and even dating sites.

“It’s important that people be on their guard, particularly when on the receiving end of any unsolicited approach for money or financial details, whether online or by any other means – including door-to-door cold callers.

“Even if you believe it is your bank, a family member or another source you would be inclined to trust, it’s crucial to be careful.

“Fraudsters don’t care who they target, they only care about getting their hands on your money and will constantly change how they present their scam to lure people in and swindle them.”

Anyone who has been a victim of a scam is asked to report it immediately to police.