Farmers warned about the dangers of fraud attacks

North Yorkshire Police have said that farmers should be "extremely wary" of any suspicious calls, texts or emails, as fraudsters will target the agricultural sector when EU grant payments begin to arrive in bank accounts this month.

Chief Inspector Nick Hunter, North Yorkshire Police lead for rural crime, said: "Criminals are well aware of when these annual payments start to arrive and will look for any opportunity to defraud their victims.

"It is vital that farmers, and other recipients of the payment, are alert to these scams and are very wary of any phone calls, texts or emails out of the blue asking for personal or financial information, or to transfer money to another account."

This month, farmers will start to receive significant funds through the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), which is the European Union's main rural payments scheme.

Information about the payments, including the recipients' names and the amount paid, is publicly available, meaning criminals are able to target victims directly, and make their approaches appear more convincing.

The warning has been issued by the dedicated card and payment crime unit (DCPCU), a police unit with a national remit, formed as a partnership between Financial Fraud Action UK, the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, together with the Home Office.

Tony Blake, senior fraud prevention officer for the DCPCU, said: "If you receive a suspicious call or message, hang up the phone and do not reply directly. Instead, wait five minutes and ring your bank to alert them to the scam, using a phone number that you trust - such as the one from the official website."

According to a police spokesman, the scam communications will typically claim that fraud has been detected in the farmer's bank account and that urgent action is required to safeguard funds.

The victim is then persuaded to divulge personal or financial information, or even to transfer money directly into a so-called "safe account".