New warning of telephone scams (From Penarth Times)

New warning of telephone scams

POLICE say con artists using telephone scams similar to the one used to swindle £1500 from a Penarth widow earlier this year are operating in the Vale once again.

Telephone callers have been targeting victims by phoning them at home to inform them they have won or inherited money.

In some cases they offer investment opportunities.

Vale police say that a number of scams are currently being operated by these criminals.

Scam victims are told that they have won the lottery, usually in Canada or Australia, and sometimes that a distant relative has died in a foreign country and has left them a large amount of money.

Investment opportunities are also offered, usually by encouraging to victims to invest in a particular currency.

Detective Inspector Phil Williams, of Vale Police, said: "If its sounds too good to be true then it usually is. If you suspect that you have received one of these calls then you should hang up immediately. If you persistently receive these calls you can call your telephone providers nuisance calls service and ask to get the number blocked."

This request is not often made during the initial call.

In July the Penarth Times reported how a Penarth widow signed over more than £1500 to a lottery scam phone caller when she was told she had won £2.6 million.

The 79-year-old, who did not want us to identify her, was phoned on several occasions over a five-week period and told she had won the Australian lottery.

She was told she needed £230 for the insurance to claim the money and was later asked for a further £1300 which the caller said was needed to withdraw the cash from the bank.

She paid the amount and also sent off a photocopy of her passport as identification.

Police say the callers are often based abroad and can be very convincing. They request an advance fee to cover legal and administrative costs or local taxes.