POLICE in Barry are issuing a warning to people after a recent scam where a man was called by people falsely claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice.
The man received a telephone call claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice, advising him that he could be owed money from payment protection insurance (PPI), but first had to make an upfront payment in order to enable him to receive the money.
These callers have no connection with the Ministry of Justice or any other genuine organisation and South Wales Police is urging the public not to purchase the Ukash voucher requested by the fraudster.
Inspector Clive Bevan said: “In this case the caller informed the gentleman that they were from the Ministry of Justice and that he was owed a refund from mis-sold PPI insurance.
"However prior to this, an initial payment is requested to be made using Ukash vouchers.
"Once the victim has purchased the Ukash voucher, and handed over the unique code to the fraudster, the value of the voucher is claimed and the victim does not receive the promised PPI money.
“As the caller indicates they are from the Ministry of Justice it can appear very plausible and the scam is designed to gain the victims trust.
"We are urging people not to be taken in by cold callers approaching them by telephone and informing them of money they may be entitled to.”
If you, or anyone you know, has been affected by this fraud or any other scam, report it to South Wales Police on 101.
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