Jersey Police are warning people about scammers, as its revealed £3.59 million has been conned from unsuspecting islanders in the past year.

The force has received 433 reports of fraud since October 2023, which it says is likely to only be the tip of the iceberg. 

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Beechey tells Channel 103 he's worried people aren't coming forward: 

"When we speak to individuals who find themselves in these really challenging situations, one of the first things they tell us is how impactive this is on them: how they feel, how sometimes embarrassed, how angry they feel.

"This often leads to the fact that the individuals will suffer in silence and not tell friends, family or indeed the police about this."

DCI Beechey says the number of scams being reported to the force and the amount of money conned out of islanders pockets is rising year on year.

The most common scams Jersey Police are seeing are impersonation fraud and romance cons.

Advice from 'little book of big scams', which can be found on Jersey Police's website

Chris Beechey has this advice for islanders: 

"If you are contacted out of the blue then think twice. Don't rush into anything, get advice, speak to family or friends and sometimes because of thinking twice, things are not always as they scheme and are too good to be true.

"Secondly, always protect your personal information, never give out that personal information or indeed banking details unless you are 100% certain you are talking to a trusted advisor.

"A bank will never ask for your personal information or banking details because they would already hold it. If someone contacts you on the telephone, politely say 'thank you very much, I will contact the bank in my own way', then look up the telephone number and use that.

"Similarly if someone sends you a link on a text, again - never hit that particular link. If the person at the end of the telephone or email is encouraging you to go to a different site, do your own research and contact that bank or institution in a different way."

Scam text received by the team at Channel 103

Islanders who want to learn more about scams or who want to check whether a text or email they've received is genuine, are invited to come to West Centre today (20 November) between 11 and 2pm.

Fraud prevention officers will be on hand to give out advice.