Be alert to a mobile phone scam

A report has been received from Neighbourhood Watch regarding what appears to be a mobile phone scam. This scam may be operating in our area, so please pass this information on your friends, family and colleagues so that they are aware.

Incidents involve innocent people’s homes being used as a delivery address for mobile phones that they have not ordered. Police believe the phones are being ordered by criminals using a bogus account and they are using residents’ addresses to have them delivered.

The scam usually involves one or more mobile phones being delivered to a home owner who has not ordered the goods. The occupant is usually confused as to why the mobile phones have been delivered to their address when they haven’t ordered them. In the meantime the occupant receives a phone call from someone claiming to be from the mobile phone company that the phones have been sent from. They tell the home owner that the phones have been delivered to their address in error and that someone will visit them to collect them.

However, mobile phone companies have stressed that they would never send someone to collect the mobile phones, and that they would instead send out an envelope for the phones to be returned in via the post.

Please be aware of this scam and anyone who receives mobile phones that have not been ordered should make contact with the mobile phone supplier that they have been delivered from and send them back to the supplier using the envelope they provide you with.

Please report any incidents of this nature to Leicestershire Police on 101.

You are advised not to hand over the mobile phones to anyone. If an individual does visit your property to collect the mobile phones, please call Leicestershire Police on 999 immediately.