New scam cons 1 million pounds from islanders in a week

Wednesday, 24 July 2024 10:43

A new scam is targeting Jersey businesses, and has taken 1 million pounds from islanders' pockets in the span of a week.

The con is coming from scammers pretending to be from the NatWest Fraud Team.

Jersey Police say the fraud is starting with a cold call, from someone claiming to be from the bank.

The fraudster then tells business owners that there is a problem with the company account and they need to log in to their online banking.

Business owners are then told they are on the 'wrong screen' and are asked to enter a URL, which enables the scammer to gain control of the account and steal their money.

In just under a week, Jersey Police say numerous Jersey businesses have been targeted, with losses reaching nearly 1 million pounds.

Detective Inspector Aiden Quenault is urging islanders to be vigilant against the fraudsters:

"A genuine bank would never ask victims to give away any personal or two-factor authentication details over the phone and they'd certainly never ask to take over your device.

"If you're in any doubt, hang up the phone and contact the bank on a genuine number: so that can be from the real website or the number for most banks is often printed on the back of bank cards."