Sidmouth worker loses purse then scammed to get PIN

PIN numbers should never be given out to people over the telephone, Sidmouth Police warned this week.

Their advice comes after a woman, working in the town, had her purse stolen from her place of work on Wednesday.

A police spokeswoman said: “She was then contacted by an unknown person saying they were from her bank, had detained a person, but needed more details from her.”

The women gave her account and PIN numbers to the caller and later decided to call the bank to cancel her cards.

However, said the police, some money had been taken from her account.

“We need a warning to say that on no account would the bank, or police officers, ever ask you for PIN numbers and on no account should you give them out to anybody.”