Email from police - apparently I bought stolen goods on eBay

mightymole

as londondealer said be wary orint out the email and pop down to your local police station/office and double check

duncan-biscuits

OP must have rang them by now , gives an update! I got a bnwt Radley handbag off a private seller at ebay last year wasnt from Wales but makes you think!

A_Couple_In_Love

Interesting.. any news?

ballisticbrian

Someone contacted me from the police about an item I sold to a criminal, they contacted me by phone at first and arranged a visit in person even though they were from a force the opposite end of the country but I guess it depends on the force and how serious it is.

Hezzawithkids

Haven't contacted them yet but got another email last night:

Hi,

Thanks for the overwhelming response to the enquiry.

Although I don’t envisage anyone being called to court (as there are possibly 800+!) we do need to collate details of possible witnesses. Attached is an electronic copy of the rear of the statement.

If you could fill this part in I would be very grateful.

As some are concerned about the e-mail being legitimate please contact me on my number tel xxxxxxxxxuntil 6pm and after 2pm tomorrow.

The rear of the statement asks for name address details and lots of questions ref if the victim is willing to attend court, reasons why not etc then lots of tick-boxes ref witness consent.

Thanks for the advice, I'll print it all off & take it to the local cop shop before doing anything.

bxboards

This sounds very unlikely.

If the police have got your e-mail address, it means they would have requested all your details via Ebay. That means they would also have your address too, so it's odd they would e-mail rather than write.

This sounds like a phishing scam - it doesn't sound like a legitimate modus operandi to me.

ThinkingOfLinking

On one hand, if it's a scam, I don't really get what they want from you...and it's a lot of effort on their part, plus they could get done for impersonating a police officer, if they re caught...?

On the other, how do they know that the specific bag you bought is stolen?

ballisticbrian

Surely you have their PC numbers? just phone where they are stationed, speak to them and just say I needed to verify who you were to check it's not a scam.

chancesare_2

londondealer wrote: »

I'm a police officer in the MET never heard of a detection being handled via email. Be wary.

And in Devon & Cornwall they do it via email or even FB, have been for some years. Even used it for visitors to a busy petrol station where a serious crime (att. murder) had been committed. Took the car numbers from CCTV and contacted as many as they could via online means - it went to Court recently and the Judge even commented on the way it was dealt with saving £'s. If you think about it, it is easier for one officer to collate than get 20 officers up and down the country, in various Forces doing it manually.

It is a quick point of contact and the OIC's details can be verified by ringing the Force themselves.

A_Couple_In_Love

Looks very fake tbh, the email looks unprofessional... "the cop shop"?

Ring your station directly and ask them about the email.