Nottinghamshire Police are warning people about a recent phone scam in which callers are being asked to purchase Ukash vouchers in order to receive a rebate.
Cold callers are claiming to be from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) advising that they can reclaim bank or other charges such as payment protection insurance rebates.
The scammers claim that the service requires an upfront fee to be paid by money transfer or that victims need to disclose their bank account details. In some cases victims have been asked to pay between £200 and £250.
The OFT is warning people not to pay money to bogus telephone callers claiming to be from the OFT. These callers have no connection with the OFT. The OFT does not ask people for money over the telephone.
Advice about Ukash vouchers
Ukash vouchers can be bought from some shops to allow people to purchase items online from participating websites without a credit card or bank account.
- Ukash is just like cash. If you hand them over or give their serial numbers to someone, it’s like handing them money.
- Keep your Ukash vouchers and their serial numbers safe and use them carefully. Only use them at genuine partner websites, if you are not sure check their list.
- Never reveal a Ukash voucher code or your bank details to anyone over the phone and never give it to someone who asks for payment upfront.
- Only purchase Ukash from official Ukash issuing partners or the Ukash website, never from ‘exchange’ sites.
- Follow Ukash’s online payment security advice.
For further information visit the Nottinghamshire Police website.
Please note that Action Fraud is not responsible for the content of external websites.
To report a fraud and receive a police crime reference number, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
Related links
Fraudsters claiming to be from BT
Cold calling bogus solicitors
Bogus telephone calls from OnlineTec
