Warning about flowers and wine scam

10:40am Tuesday 23rd October 2012 in News By Laura Smith

A WARNING has been issued about a scam where a courier delivers flowers and wine to your front door.

The victim receives a phone call asking whether they will be home to receive a delivery in the next hour.

A courier then arrives with flowers and a bottle of wine stating it is a gift, and asks for a £3 credit card payment as proof that the alcohol had been delivered to an adult.

The scammer then produces a mobile card machine to swipe the card and asks the victim to enter their pin number. A receipt is printed and handed over.

The machine is in fact bogus and is used to clone the victim’s card so that money can later be withdrawn from their account at a cash machine.

It is a scam which has hit St Alban's but people in Essex are being warned because cons tend to move out towards our area.

A spokesman for Southend Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership said: "Residents are advised not to hand over payment or any personal information to unsolicited callers.

"If in doubt, close the door and report any suspicious activity to the police on 101."

Comments(7)

EssexBoy1956 says...
2:08pm Tue 23 Oct 12

So somebody turns up on my doorstep with an unexpected free gift and I don't think it's a con? Duh. Are people really that stupid?

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Olivia2847 says...
2:38pm Tue 23 Oct 12

Here in Leigh we all know that if a tradesman turns up at the front door it must be a con! We only have deliveries at the tradesmen's entrance round the back ;-) God forbid what happens in Thorpe Bay!!

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DogsMessInLeigh says...
9:43pm Tue 23 Oct 12

What type of wine is it..is there a choice, or do you get whats given..?

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hellopotap says...
11:41am Wed 24 Oct 12

Haven't encountered something like that but I remember reading about it at Callercenter.com before. I didn't think the scam's become prevalent.

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APR says...
1:36pm Thu 25 Oct 12

Of course this sort of thing could feasible happen, but the story has been
circulating for the last four or five years.

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Tj Lady says...
7:06pm Fri 26 Oct 12

well they wouldn't get much out of me,only have 1p in the bank..and never answer the door either.

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DogsMessInLeigh says...
3:21pm Sat 27 Oct 12

well you won't get any free wine and stuff then.

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