National Insurance scam calls on the rise

Detective Inspector Emma Wright from West Mercia Police Economic Crime Unit is urging people to be vigilant and aware of fast growing trend in National Insurance Number scam calls.

Victims have reported receiving an automated telephone call telling them their “National Insurance number has been compromised” and in order to fix this, the victim needs to “press 1 on their handset to be connected to the caller”. The call is sometimes purporting to be the police or the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Once connected to the “caller”, victims are pressured into giving over their personal details to resolve the problem with their NI number. In reality, they’ve been connected to a criminal who can now use their personal details to commit fraud. In some cases the victims are receiving follow up calls purporting to be from the police or their bank, claiming that their account has now been compromised and they now need to transfer their funds to a “safe account”. The frauds are actually being transferred to an account controlled by the fraudster and victims suffer a loss.

Detective Inspector Emma Wright: “I can relate to everyone receiving these calls, as I myself have received them and they can be very convincing. But it’s important to remember if you’re contacted out the blue by someone asking for your personal or financial details, this could be a scam. This series of calls pretending to be about your NI number or bank, while not new, are causing dozens of people in West Mercia each month to fall victim to them."

“It is worth remembering that even when it comes to confirming personal details like your email address, date of birth or mother’s maiden name, criminals can use the information to commit fraud. In addition, the police or your bank will never contact you and ask you to transfer funds to another account, if you receive this request – it’s a scam.

“I would urge everyone to please get in touch with their vulnerable friends and family and ask that you pass this on to everyone you know and that if they have any doubts about what is being asked, then they should hang up the phone and provide no details.

“It is extremely unlikely that a legitimate organisation will rush or pressure you to disclose these details.”

USE the following tips to protect yourself from fraudsters.

• Keep your social media accounts private – Think twice before you your share details – in particular your full date of birth, address and contacts details – all of this information can be useful to fraudsters. Beware of “fun” posts or quizzes on social media designed to harvest information, like the name of your first pet, first school etc. This may be used to try to uncover your passwords or answers to common account security questions.
• Deactivate and delete old social media profiles – Keep track of your digital footprint. If a profile was created 10 years ago, there may be personal information currently available for a fraudster to use that you’re are not aware of or you have forgotten about.
• Password protect your devices– Keep passwords complex by picking three random words, such as roverducklemon and add or split them with symbols, numbers and capitals.
• Install anti-virus software on your laptop and personal devices and keep it up to date – This will make it harder for fraudsters to access your data in the first place.
• Take care on public Wi-Fi– Fraudsters can hack or mimic them. If you’re using one, avoid accessing sensitive apps, such as mobile banking.
• Think about your offline information too – Always redirect your post when you move home and make sure your letter or mailbox is secure.