In an age where trust is a currency as valuable as the money in our wallets, a new scam has emerged, exploiting the essence of our faith in authority.

Scammers, with their bag of tricks ever-expanding, are now impersonating police officers to swindle unsuspecting individuals out of their personal information and hard-earned money.

This latest scam has seen a number of residents receive phone calls from fraudsters claiming to be from a Sydney police station, specifically The Rocks Police Station.

These callers weave a narrative where the person on the other end of the line is purportedly a victim of a scam or online fraud, ironically, while attempting to perpetrate a scam themselves.

Scammers use this new tactic of impersonating police officers to trick residents. Credit: Shutterstock

The scammers' modus operandi involves requesting personal details over the phone.

Community members have reported multiple instances of these deceptive calls and voicemails, prompting an investigation by the Sydney City Police Area Command officers.

In light of these events, police have warned the public sternly.

A police spokesperson has emphasised the importance of safeguarding your personal information. Do not disclose your personal details, bank information, PINs, or account passwords to anyone over the phone.

‘If you are suspicious about the credentials of a person on the phone, ask questions of them. If they avoid answering or refuse to provide information, hang up,’ the spokesperson said.

‘Don’t let scammers pressure you—scammers use detailed scripts to convince you that they’re the real deal and create a high-pressure situation to make a decision on the spot.’

‘If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately and contact police immediately to report the incident.’

In a similar story, scammers posed as organisations or authorities offering help to scam victims by asking for fees or personal details to ‘help’ recover lost funds, often leading to financial losses.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission advised against using these services py providing some tips. You can learn more about the story here.

Tip

If you or someone else has been scammed, you can report it to Scamwatch here.

You can also head over to our Scam Watch forum to stay updated with the latest tricks scammers use to deceive people out of their money and sensitive details.

Key Takeaways

• Residents have been warned about a new scam involving hoax callers impersonating police officers.
• The scammers attempt to acquire personal details by claiming the call recipient has been a victim of fraud.
• Sydney City Police Area Command officers are actively investigating the source of these scam calls.
• Police advise against sharing personal information or bank details with unidentified callers and to report any suspicious interactions to the authorities.

Have you or someone you know encountered a similar scam? Share your experiences in the comments below!

 

[Bezz]

These people are just low life’s, why don’t they put their computer talents to good use. Also, get out there and do some volunteer work in the community, instead of wrecking peoples life’s!!

 

[LeahI]

Man if you fall for that one, there's no hope.

 

[BellaB18]

If you get this call,of course you would be inclined to believe the person because they are saying they are police from Sydney. Maybe you could say. Ok thank you for bringing this to my attention, due to this matter being involving my banking personal details you will understand l will have to contact my local police station just be certain this is not a scam.
Now l would imagine the caller will hang up or go into a spin with some rubbish to make the you feel at ease. Again stick to your firm voice and say thank
for your call l am hanging up now and going to check in with my local police station about this matter. And then ring your local police station to be told no this is a scam and they will be grateful for you bringing this to their attention.
These scammers are going lower and lower..we have to be on the ball sadly. Always keep your BS radar alert with cold calls and suspicious texts and emails.
Kind regards to all Vicki

 

[Babbie]

These people are just low life’s, why don’t they put their computer talents to good use. Also, get out there and do some volunteer work in the community, instead of wrecking peoples life’s!!

There have always been ‘ low life’s’ as you have pointed out. It is so much easier now for them with the internet. They will continue to exist while people continue to feed them.

 

[bluetang]

These people are just low life’s, why don’t they put their computer talents to good use. Also, get out there and do some volunteer work in the community, instead of wrecking peoples life’s!!

No no they, are out to get money. Greedy grubs, wouldn't cross the road to help anyone. It has gone from
a room in Nigeria to big international criminal organizations raking in millions of dollars every day, plus
the small shysters having a go too.

 

[Luckyus]

If the old Bill want to speak to me, then they can knock on my door?

 

[Mark@Home]

Become a whistleblower. Tinnitus lasts quite a long time. Just sayin' !!

 

[JimmyFlatrock]

From the article:
‘If you are suspicious about the credentials of a person on the phone, ask questions of them. If they avoid answering or refuse to provide information, hang up,’ the spokesperson said.'

Looks easy enough for many of us to handle. I can think of plenty of questions they the bottom dwellers would struggle with. If indeed I chose to stay on the line and not immediately hang up. My phone usually prevents me from being in that situation by throwing up 'potential scam' messages in red, which I never answer. Just block the number if phone hasn't already done that. Some days it happens a lot, say max of 3 times, then nothing or one for a day or so. The rate of calls is dropping slowly over time. So these situations are easy for me to manage at the moment and when I become more awareness challenged, hopefully the phone will continue to do it's job.

So a lot of us know how clever we are, but I don't believe it's right to hold a superior view and say it's the mugs amongst us that are providing easy money to the bad guys. The situation is a little deeper than that.

For the more cognitive challenged amongst us, without the phone safeguards in place, could be in a vulnerable position. Authorities calling, have I made a mistake somehow, if I hang up, what will happen to my money. Fear!

The trick is, what to do for someone you know who is in that space. What actions can you do now that would avoid a financial loss for vulnerable people you know might be susceptible to events like this.

I don't think governments or financial institutions are being inclusive enough when it comes to protecting vulnerable people. It's also not good enough to say they shouldn't be in control of their own money either in a lot of cases. I think financial institutions should have an all in number that can be called by worried or vulnerable people that are so listed.

 

[Tootie]

Received a call last week purporting to be from Bowel Cancer Australia. Mentioned we are Police officers. Didn't take long for them to hang up.

 

[David567]

I have just started to receive scam text messages stating that I have unpaid speeding fines in NSW, I live in QLD.
Please be carefull if you get this text message.

 

[Scaveola]

I don’t answer any calls if the number is unknown. Only if I’m expecting a call I may answer as sometimes trusted callers use different numbers. Anyone who needs to contact me can leave a message or text. I get a lot of nuisance calls otherwise.

 

[Tygie]

Geez they keep inventing them!