POLICE are warning residents to be wary of a telephone scam targeting residents of Drouin and Warragul.
The scam, which police say is focused on Drouin, involves a caller claiming to represent the “Department of Reclaim based in Sydney” saying the victim is “owed $5000 from the bank”.
ADVERTISEMENT
The caller then says they need the victim’s direct debit details to complete the transaction, and if the victim requests a cheque they are asked to send $150 to a Western Union bank account.
Police say the caller “will go to great lengths to make his offer seem genuine, quoting cheque and quote number details as well as the victim’s full name.”
Police are warning residents to treat offers received by telephone with caution as financial institutions do not ask for personal bank details over the phone.
Scams should be reported to www.scamwatch.gov.au or a local police station.
ADVERTISEMENT
This sounds like the scam call I received yesterday. Caller told me I took a loan some 18 months ago and that I needed to pay off the debt immediately or I get a lawsuit filed against me. I’ve read about this scam at http://www.callercenter.com before so I knew the caller was bluffing. I just told the caller his call was being traced by the police and it’ll just take another minute before the police pinpoint his location. He hung up.