Criminals are contacting elderly victims claiming to be from the bank, then within a very short time frame they attend the victims home purporting to be a courier to collect the victims bank card and to replace with a new card.
They leave the victim with an envelope containing what feels like a bank card but transpires to be a gift card. The offenders then leave to withdraw victims money.
We have had a number of reports of men acting as the courier, often wearing a hi visibility jacket – although this may not always be the case. A large number of these offences that are occurring across Essex, from Epping to Tendring to Leigh on Sea, and even spreading into bordering counties.
We are asking all residents to be aware and to ensure that this message is passed on to friends and family members, or those who are in self-isolation. If we can follow the idea of ‘Tell2’ – if you tell two people, who then tell two people etc, we can reach enormous numbers of people. An unbroken chain of 26 ‘Tell2’ would reach 67 million people! Please spread this message to protect our elderly and vulnerable people. It starts with you!