On Monday, an unknown man rang the doorbell of a woman on the Route de Bettembourg in Hellange and told her that he was there to deliver a package. The man was also equipped with a bank card reader.
The woman apparently thought nothing of it and paid. As she was about to enter her PIN, the man discreetly swapped her card for another. The victim noticed the switch shortly afterwards and had her card blocked.
On Tuesday, a similar incident took place, this time on Boulevard Charles Simonis in Cents. Here too, an unknown man posed as a courier and asked for a small sum to hand over a package. Just as in the previous case, the bank card was switched, though the victim only realised what had happened some time later.
In both cases, the parcels contained various personal care and pharmaceutical products, none of which had been ordered by either victim.
The scam is nothing new to police. Officers have already warned on several occasions that bogus delivery couriers are doing the rounds, asking residents for money for a parcel and using the exchange to lift their bank cards without them noticing.
Police urge people to never hand over their bank card and to always shield their PIN from prying eyes. In case of any doubt, the transaction should be cancelled and the delivery company contacted directly, according to the police. Older residents in particular, police add, should be made aware of the scam.
Anyone who has fallen victim to such a bogus courier is asked to report the incident at one of the country's police stations.
