Throughout this week, every NatWest branch in the London and South East of England area will host an event to raise awareness among customers of potential fraud scams. The events will be run in conjunction with local Metropolitan community police officers, to coincide with National Customer Service Week.
At the events, NatWest staff and the Police will help customers understand how fraudsters may target them and how they can prevent themselves from becoming victims of scams. They will also be given copies of the Metropolitan Police’s ‘Little Book of Big Scams’ booklet which was launched in 2012.
The booklet arms customers with all the information they need to be aware of potential fraud scams and helps them understand how they can prevent themselves from falling victim to them.
The Little Book of Big Scams is already being put to good use. Staff at one of NatWest’s branches in London recently became concerned when an elderly customer came in asking to withdraw her entire life savings from her account. The assistant branch manager sensed this wasn’t right, and took the customer into an interview room to find out more information.
The customer became very uncomfortable, visibly shaking, and said she was using the money for a holiday. As an elderly customer, this didn’t seem right, so the branch manager gave her The Little Book of Scams, opening at the page on courier fraud and asked her to read it.
The customer then confessed that she had received a call from someone saying they were the Police, and that the assistant manager in the branch was stealing money from the customer’s account. They told her the best course of action would be to withdraw her entire life savings, which would be collected from her home that day by a Police officer.
The branch manager called the ‘Action Fraud’ number in the Little Book of Big Scams, and the police are currently investigating.
All NatWest staff are fully trained to support customers who have been or think they may have been a victim of fraud, so working with the Metropolitan Police seemed like an ideal way to show their customers that they take the issue of fraud very seriously.
Phil Northey, MD of NatWest London and England and Wales said: “At NatWest, we’re committed to helping our customers protect themselves from fraud and we think prevention through education is key.
“It’s impossible to prevent every type of fraud occurring, but we’re working closer with the Police than ever before to raise awareness among our customers to help them identify the warning signs.”
Fraud prevention events are taking place in all NatWest branches in London and the South East from 6 – 10 October. Anyone wishing to attend should go into their local branch for more info.
