Man arrested and live ammunition found in raid at Wednesbury address
An address in Wednesbury was raided and ammunition found as detectives searched 10 propertie and arrested four people in connection with so-called 'courier fraud' in the West Midlands.
Officers from the West Midlands Economic Crime Unit raided the property in Burns Road, Wednesbury as well as addresses in Perry Barr, Nechells, Aston, Kings Norton, Washwood Heath and Kitts Green at 7am today.
Colleagues from the London Regional Fraud Team simultaneously raided a property in the Camden area of the capital as part of the major investigation.
A 58-year-old man was arrested at an address on Burns Road, Wednesbury and a 20-year-old man was arrested at a property on Gilden Crescent, Camden, both on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. Live ammunition was also found at the Wednesbury address.
It follows two arrests last night of two men aged 18 and 19 last night in Birmingham city centre. The men were also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.
Three of the men are being held at police stations in the West Midlands, whilst the fourth was today being transported from London as searches continued at the 10 properties.
Courier-fraudsters commit their crimes by cold-calling victims and claiming to be police officers. They then use a story to convince the person to hand their card to a courier who visits their home to collect it.
The key part of the fraud is that the phone line is left open by the thieves, which means when the victim calls their bank to confirm the story they are actually speaking to the scammers.
Latest figures show 114 reported cases in the West Midlands area since 1 January 2014, with elderly victims being specifically targeted.
Det Ch Insp Adrian Atherley, from the West Midlands ECU, said: "The action we've taken over the last 24 hours has been the result of extensive enquiries; we're hoping it will seriously disrupt these networks who seek to exploit vulnerable members of our community.
"The people responsible for committing these crimes are cold, calculated thieves; their tactic is to scare and confuse elderly people into handing over sensitive information ? but the police and banks will never ask for your PIN over the phone, so you should always put down the receiver straight away.
"Despite today's arrests, it is vital people remain vigilant to this scam, so if you've got elderly relatives, friends or neighbours please remind them never to disclose bank details or hand over cards to anyone.
"Our advice is always to be wary of unsolicited callers, whether on the phone or in person, and if in doubt, hang-up or close the door and call police. Don't get conned."
