Shepton Mallet PIN Fraud attempt is repeated elsewhere:

Police are warning us to keep our PIN numbers safe.  This follows a theft of a bag from a hospital, following which, the owner received a call asking for her PIN number!  A similar crime occurred last year when a bag was taken from an office in Shepton Mallet.  The owner then also received a call from someone pretending to be from her bank.

On this occasion, the owner of the bag did give her PIN, thinking it related to the items she had reported stolen.  DC Greg Brunt, a financial intelligence officer at Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Your bank will never ask you for your PIN number. They already have it.   

Police are keen to remind us that identity theft can happen anywhere, to anyone.  We often have concerns about sharing details online, but regularly hand our bank cards to complete strangers.  Indeed, there were issues of card cloning in Glastonbury over the past couple of years (now dealt with) which serves as a reminder of the potential value to fraudsters of our cards.  

• Never lose sight of your card
• Never give your PIN number to anyone
• If a cash machine looks unusual, do not use it and report it (it might have a cloning device attached)

Police said in a statement released earlier this week: “Fraudsters could contact you pretending to be from a legitimate organisation, or could get your details from discarded receipts or bank statements.  Many victims of fraud feel a sense of violation and the hassle and frustration of waiting for cards to be replaced and funds to be reimbursed, is enormous.”

“To avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, keep a check on your credit score because there is a danger that criminals will use personal details belonging to other people to apply for credit in their name. “

More details about protecting yourself from identity theft can be found at ‘IdentityTheft.org’