PSNI 'concerned' as fraudster used its number in scam attempt

The police have warned of a "concerning" fraud attempt in which a scammer pretended to be calling from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) about a criminal investigation.

The force said a person in the south Belfast area received a call from a number matching that of the PSNI switchboard.

The caller told the victim they were linked to an investigation involving money transfers to "narcotic-related countries" that required them to hand over information about their bank cards and purchase gift cards.

The victim refused to share their details and blocked the number.

A police inspector said the caller was asked to "purchase gift cards and send across the codes for those, stating that this was part of the investigation process and that the money would be returnded to them".

"This made the reporting party suspicious, and thankfully the victim didn't share any of their personal or bank details with the caller," they added.

The inspector urged the public to "be alert" to this type of scam and reminded people never to give financial information over the phone to strangers.

It comes as the PSNI revealed an elderly lady had been defrauded of her life savings in an online scam in May.

The woman in her 70s had invested in a crypto-currency scheme she had seen advertised online and lost "upwards of £250,000".