Fraudsters posing as bailiffs nearly swindled a man out of £3,000 by falsely claiming there was a County Court Judgement against him and threatening to seize his furniture. The victim, Paul from Northumberland, shared his experience on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme.

He received a call from a man purporting to be from a debt collection agency who warned him: “The boys and I are going to come round later today to collect furniture from your house to the value of the finding.” The alleged debt was linked to unpaid social media marketing fees.

The fraudster provided a fake court phone number for Paul to verify the details, which led to another accomplice who confirmed the bogus debt. Paul was then emailed counterfeit court documents and instructed to transfer money to the personal account of a “court appointed advisor”.

After repeated calls and emails from the so-called bailiffs, Paul decided to double-check the court number and discovered the scam. Reflecting on the ordeal, Paul said: “They sort of almost had me. You go into a mode of shock where you’re not really thinking terribly clearly.”

Another victim, Victoria from Cheshire, told the BBC she also received a call warning her that enforcement officers were en route to her home, sending her into “panic mode”, reports Plymouth Live.

She too was given a false number to confirm the debt and was duped by another scammer who claimed there was a warrant for her arrest.

As she was about to make the payment, her husband decided to verify the court’s number online. Victoria said: “He said he would never speak to me again if I sent the money.”

When she attempted to transfer the funds, her bank flagged a warning that it was for a personal account, not a business one.

The Ministry of Justice has warned that impersonating a bailiff is a criminal offence and advised anyone receiving similar calls to hang up and look up the correct court number. Sarah Naylor, from the Civil Enforcement Association, the trade body for bailiffs, advised: “Take a breath and reflect. Does this seem right? Is this the first you’ve heard about it? Does it seem suspicious? Keep calm and understand more about the debt and if that individual isn’t helping you with that, then it’s very likely that they’re not a legitimate enforcement agent.”

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