Scam Alert: Fake Police Using Moroccan Phone Numbers Target Gironde Residents

These fake police officers contact their victims by phone with Morocco’s country code and make them believe that their bank cards have been hacked, then offer them the only solution to obtain PCS cards (prepaid bank cards sold at tobacconists), reports Actu.fr. The scammers are very convincing. "They also demand the victims’ mobile phone numbers in order to recover the PCS coupon numbers as soon as possible," explains the Gironde gendarmerie.

This type of scam is not difficult to thwart if the victim is attentive to certain clues, indicates the gendarmerie which gives some advice to protect against fraud. First, you have to check the number used by these fake police officers, which usually starts with Morocco’s country code. Then, you have to keep in mind that a police officer or a gendarme will never ask you to take any withdrawal actions by phone. Finally, you always have to verify the identity of the people who present themselves to you, physically or by phone, as a police officer by demanding their professional card.

"Be suspicious, suspicious. Usually, the fake agent gets discouraged and will leave quickly without bothering you. In case of theft, do not touch anything and immediately call 17," recommends the Gironde gendarmerie, which also asks to carefully observe the interlocutor in order to be able to describe him to the investigators or to note the model and license plate of the scammers’ vehicle.