Conmen tried to trick the owner of a stolen credit card into giving them his pin number by ringing him up and saying they had caught the thief.
But the victim, from Colchester, was not tricked by the scam and reported it to police who are now warning other people to watch out for it.
Det Sgt Roger Napier, of Colchester CID, said: "After he had had the wallet stolen he received a phone call claiming that the people were from HSBC security.
"They said someone had been detained in a store using his stolen credit card and they were asking for his pin number so the card could be stopped.
"Fortunately the victim was on the ball and thought it was suspicious so he did not pass on the number."
Published Thursday, September 16, 2004
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