A WOMAN has been scammed out of hundreds of thousands of pounds as police in North Yorkshire issue an alert to the public.
North Yorkshire Police is urging people not to be taken in by people calling out of the blue and claiming fraudulent activity has taken place on their bank account.
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Two recent incidents in North Yorkshire have seen victims pass hundreds of thousands of pounds into the hands of criminals.
A police spokesperson said: "In one case the victim was called by fraudsters claiming to be from Darlington Police who told her to call 999.
"She did this, but the fraudsters were still on the line and unbeknown to her, she was following instructions from criminals telling her to withdraw money and leave it outside of her house for collection.
"The criminals involved then picked it up from her home. She lost several thousand pounds to the scammers.
"In another case the victim was called by scammers claiming to be from the Financial Conduct Authority who persuaded her to transfer hundreds of thousands of pounds into another bank account and to tell her bank she was buying a house.
"They initially told her to set up a new bank account to deposit the money, but that bank refused to accept the deposit, they then told her to buy gold, but the dealer refused, they finally persuaded her to transfer the money into what is known as a ‘mule’ account held by an innocent member of the public but fraudulently accessed by the scammers.
"The police, your bank, or any legitimate financial organisation would never call you out of the blue and ask you to transfer money or withdraw money.
"Please put the phone down on them.
"The scammers often remain on the line while you believe you are calling your bank or other organisation. Always wait at least five minutes to allow the line to clear before you use it again. Or if you can, use another device to call.
"Do not answer any calls from unknown numbers on WhatsApp."
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