Uber driver helps foil courier fraud after suspicious £6,000 cash delivery request
- Perry Richardson
- 57 minutes ago
- 2 min read
A vigilant Uber driver helped prevent a suspected courier fraud after refusing to hand over two suspicious parcels in Watford.
The driver, who had accepted a booking on Wednesday 11 June, was initially tasked with collecting documents from a Winchester address for delivery to London. After collecting the parcels from a woman at the property, the drop-off location was changed to a car park in Watford.
On arrival, the driver was met by a man with a partially covered face who gave a name not associated with the booking. Growing suspicious, the driver refused to release the items and informed the man he would be contacting police. The man immediately fled the scene.
The driver returned to Hampshire and contacted officers. The two packages were later found to contain £6,000 in cash and bank cards, which were handed to police.
Investigators later identified the sender as a woman in her 70s. She told police she had earlier received a call from someone claiming to be a police officer investigating fraud. The caller persuaded her to withdraw £6,000 in cash and place it, along with her bank cards, in parcels to be collected as part of a supposed covert investigation.
She was instructed to mislead bank staff about the withdrawal and to hand over the items to an ‘evidence collector’. The woman became concerned and contacted her banks to freeze her accounts.
Police confirmed an investigation is underway. Officers say reports of this type of fraud have increased across the Hampshire and Isle of Wight force area during June.
Detective Constable Mike Dumbleton, from Hampshire & Isle of Wight’s Economic Crime Investigation Team, said: “Firstly, the driver did the right thing – he trusted his instincts that something wasn’t right, reported it to us, and the result is that the victim is not at a loss of £6,000.
“While this is not the usual method for courier fraud, we would encourage all private hire drivers to be aware of this scam, in case they get requests to transport packages in this way. Please be suspicious, especially if the person you collect the package from is elderly or vulnerable in any way. If you think it is a scam, please report it to us.
“Courier fraud typically involves fraudsters calling victims and claiming to be from a bank, the police, or another law enforcement agency.
“They often target older people and persuade victims to disclose financial information, or withdraw money, for someone to collect later. Victims are often told this is part of an investigation and are persuaded to not tell anyone about it.
“Police officers, banks or other organisations would never contact people in this way and ask you to withdraw money or disclose such information. If someone calls and asks you to do so, please hang up, as it will be a scam.”
