A man pretending to be an officer with London’s Metropolitan Police knocked on the door of a Caerphilly resident as part of a suspected scam.
The fake officer presented what looked like a genuine Met Police identity card when he called on the Caerphilly town resident at around noon today, Monday, March 12.
The man, who is described as white, in his mid 30s, with short dark hair and wearing a dark blue jacket, said he was from the Met’s fraud squad investigating fraudulent building work.
He claimed the force had two men in custody in Bristol and after looking at the resident’s new roof said a colleague would contact him to discuss the matter further.
The resident then received a call from a ‘PC Barry Bishop’, who explained he was in Bristol Court dealing with a Judge Anthony Chambers. ‘PC Bishop’ explained he needed to take a quick verbal statement from the resident to present to the judge. Once this was complete he could then call again to discuss compensation.
At this point the resident become suspicious and went to Caerphilly Police Station to report the matter. While there, ‘PC Bishop’ called again. The phone was handed over to an officer at the station who asked the caller to verify his details.
At this point the line was disconnected and no further details were passed.
All the calls from ‘PC Bishop’ came though on an unknown or private number but the officer that attended the address did show ID.
Gwent Police has advised residents to contact them immediately if they get somebody at the door claiming to be a police officer.
My suspicions would be aroused as soon as the caller claimed to be from ‘The Met.’ I have not seen this force in Wales since the miners strike. The lesson is simple, do not trust ID cards, which are easy to counterfeit. Ask them to state which police force/department they are from, and then look up a contact number online and ring it. If you have no computer or other means of obtaining a real contact number send them on their way and don’t reveal any information.
The Metropolitan Police did not send any officers to Wales during the Miners strike. Not a single one. As for officers working outside their force area this is extremely common and they would show ID from their own force.
I beg to differ Nicholas. I was there on many a picket line and spoke with one. Military police were deployed too.
My main point is would I take an ID card as proof positive of identity? Especially if the caller had arrived unexpectedly. My answer would be no, I would telephone for confirmation that this was a bona fide police officer before inviting them in to my home or passing on information either about myself or another. Just a sensible precaution. As this Observer news story illustrates there are con men out there.
That was funny.
“ I was there on many a picket line and spoke with one. “
Nothing like a bit of first hand evidence to put an argument to rest. Not a lot people can say to that.
Many facts do not enter the official historical narrative for several reasons, Sometimes nobody recorded them or the facts were suppressed. Testimony from those present at a historic event is highly prized by historians and such records are known as ‘primary source.’
The popular view of picket lines, reinforced most likely by the way the events are taught in schools, is violent confrontations between police and pickets. The truth is that most of the time boredom and cold were the enemy of both copper and miner. Sometimes the two sides would speak to each other and I have personal, unpublished, photographs of this happening.