Oct 14 - NFIB officer name used in attempted online fraud
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has been forwarded a fraudulent email by a member of the public, sent in the name of the Deputy Director of the NFIB, DCI Richard Waight. The email states the City of London Police has an offender in custody in connection with a recent fraud and asks the recipient for a number of personal details including bank account numbers. Below is an extract from this email:
“Following the recent report about your experience of been scammed by some persons from the United Kingdom (UK), We are glad to inform you that the suspects in question has been apprehended and presently in our custody and they will be charged accordingly but in order to be sure your story is genuine, you will be subjected to our verification process, after a successful verification, a refund will be made back to your bank account.
“During this process, we will recommend to you a Solicitor that will be in charge of this case and he or she will defend your course till a refund is made to your account. In the meantime, you are required to fill the data form attached; taking this approach will enable us to proceed with the verification process.”
DCI Waight is not behind the dissemination of these emails and the NFIB would never, under any circumstances, contact victims of fraud and ask for personal details via email using such a format. Anyone who receives a similar email should immediately contact Action Fraud with the details.
NFIB advice on how to protect yourself from online fraud
- Don’t get involved with or respond to unsolicited communication – email, telephone, letters
- Never provide any personal/sensitive information as a result of emails or cold calls
- If you ever do, run an internet check on company names, telephone numbers, email address etc
- When receiving correspondence from the police always check the email address finishes ‘police.uk’
