Beware of telephone scam for PPI cash

Residents are being urged to be aware of a PPI compensation telephone scam.
Telephone scam victimTelephone scam victim
Telephone scam victim

Police in Morecambe have had a number of calls reported to them by residents who were told over the phone that they would be due for PPI compensation after paying an administration fee in UK CASH vouchers.

Someone claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice or other government department calls, usually with strong foreign accents and fake anglicised names.

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Consumers are typically told that they are eligible to receive payments such as the repayment of bank charges or tax, compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), or other debts.

Consumers are asked to provide personal information, such as bank account details and make an upfront payment, often by one of the following methods:

nMoney Transfer: Payment can be requested via Western Union or the Post Office’s MoneyGram® service.

n Ukash Vouchers: Consumers are asked to purchase cash vouchers through a local high street shop and use the reference code to send the payment by email or over the telephone. If you have been a victim and paid money via the Ukash voucher scheme, contact UKash immediately on 0808 234 6244 (open 24 hours) to see if the payment can be blocked. For further information see the warnings on the Ukash website.

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n Paysafecard: Consumers are asked to purchase payment cards through a local high street shop and use the reference code to send the payment by email or over the telephone. If you have been a victim and paid money via Paysafecard, contact the company immediately on 0845 021 3059 (open 24 hours) to see if the payment can be blocked. For further information see the Paysafecard website.

n Bank Transfer or Debit and Credit Cards: Scammers sometimes ask consumers to provide their bank or card details in order for them to withdraw payment. If you have already given out these details, you should contact your bank or card provider immediately to stop or check any unauthorised transactions.

These callers have no connection with the Ministry of Justice, or other genuine organisations. This is part of a nationwide fraud.

If you get a call or you know someone who may have been a victim of this please let police know by using the Action Fraud site at www. actionfraud.police.uk. For more information visit http://www.justice.gov.uk/help/fraud.