Warning following use of fraudulent bank notes in Warminster

We would like to urge people to be vigilant when buying and selling goods online following an incident in Warminster.

A man in his 20s had placed an Xbox X series for sale on Facebook – a man made contact with the seller’s partner while he was away and agreed to pay £465 for the item. He attended the address in Warminster to collect the Xbox and pay in cash.

However, when the woman went to pay the cash into her bank, they confirmed that £460 worth of the £465 notes were fake notes. The notes were retained by the bank and sent to The Bank of England.

We’d like to speak to the man pictured in connection with the incident.

We urge the public to follow our advice when using these types of sites online:

• When engaging in a sale, always try and get as much information about the other individual as possible. Not all ‘for sale sites’ require membership details and buyers can therefore use private numbers and fake names without having to disclose their home or email address

• Be very wary of a buyer that states they can come and collect immediately, or someone who is prepared to travel a great distance

• A fraudulent buyer will want to leave quickly and may appear eager to hand over cash or reluctant to negotiate a price

• Always check the money you receive. If it doesn’t feel right then it might be a fake

• Remember to check for detail in the watermark and for a silver strip on both sides of the note

• Check for the sharpness of the notes ink as some counterfeit currency can appear blurred

• Always check serial numbers. We have had fraudulent cases where a large number of bank notes are handed over with the same serial numbers – these are fake

• If suspicious of a buyer, record details of the vehicle they arrived in and make the police aware of this

• If you are suspicious of a buyer we urge you to delay the sale and call us on 999.

• If a transaction has gone ahead and you then realise the bank notes are fake, please minimise the handling of the notes and call 101 so they can be recovered for examination.

Anyone with information in relation to this incident should call 101 and quote crime reference number 54220024552.