Woman in Leicestershire scammed out of thousands of pounds - police asking people to be vigilant of HMRC scam

People are being warned to be extra-vigilant by police after a woman in Leicestershire was scammed out of thousands of pounds.

The victim from the Braunstone area of Leicester got a call from someone alleging to be from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The conman told the woman, targeted out of the blue, that she owed them money and a warrant had been issued for her arrest.

The criminal, who sounded very believable, said they were calling from a Leicestershire Police station and showed they were calling from 0116 222 2222.

That is the force’s switchboard number which was used before the national 101 number was introduced.

She handed over several thousands of pounds via bank transfers and Amazon gift cards to the criminals.

Rebecca Spilane, Leicestershire Police’s fraud vulnerability officer, said: “This is a scam that we are aware of.

“But what is unusual and concerning is that the caller managed to spoof the 222 2222 telephone number in an attempt to be calling genuinely from Leicestershire Police.”

She added: “While enquiries are continuing into this incident, I wanted to make people alert to the circumstances around this specific scam and make it known that police would never call you and ask you for money.

“If you are concerned that the caller is not genuine and you are being tricked into disclosing information to a criminal, always put down the phone without confirming any personal information.

“If you call us on 101 and speak to one of our call handlers, they will advise you about the call you have just received and how to make a report.”

You can find out more information about fraud here https://www.leics.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/personal-fraud/Information from the HMRC on how to recognise a scam associated to them can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/topic/dealing-with-hmrc/phishing-scams