It’s the scam that keeps on scamming, but it seems to manifest ever so slightly each time it appears: it’s the police officer-tells-story-of-amazing-wealth phishing scam, seen all over the country, most recently by South Wales Police.

If you have seen the image on this page circulating in one of your local Facebook groups, do not be fooled, it’s a scam.

The post is once again being shared in local groups across the UK - including here in the East Midlands.

The post features the image of a genuine officer, but everything else about the post is entirely false and is designed to lure innocent members of the public into a phishing scam.

You may have seen earlier iterations of this scam featuring the same officer telling her Bitcoin success story to an apparently amazed Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning.

Both presenters condemned the scam on their social media accounts and urged people not to click on the link.

In the latest version, the “officer” claims she is making large sums of money - £18,000 per month no less - and people believe she has a “sugar daddy”. It is of course, nonsense.

The accompanying link claims to take users to an article on the Mirror’s website, but it does not. It takes users to a fake phishing website which could harvest your details and may download a virus onto your device or steal your bank details or other personal information.

People who have clicked on the link previously have reported that no sooner had they clicked the link they were bombarded with calls from all over the globe from people trying to get them to invest in Bitcoin.

One Derbyshire woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said:

"Since I clicked on it, I have received calls from America, Switzerland, Germany and Malaysia to name just a few places, with the person on the other end asking the same question every time: ‘So I understand you wish to invest in Bitcoin?’. Which I do not”.

The key hook with this scam is the get-rich-quick aspect, and because it’s alleged that a police officer is making these claims, the story may come across as trustworthy, as most people see police officers as trusted pillars of their community.

It’s not certain who the pictured officer is. The name Emma Davis has been used previously, and the location of the officer changes to match the location where the scam is circulating. So for example, South Wales Police are the latest force to report this, and the officer is alleged to be local to South Wales. When North Yorkshire police reported it earlier this year, the officer was said to be based in York.

This local element also gives the scam gravitas, but it’s all part of the phishing aspect of it, and once again, we believe that it is specifically linked to Bitcoin.

It's worth noting that should you click on the Facebook link it will NOT harm your device or expose any of your details, as you will still be within the Facebook domain. It’s the link supposedly taking you to the Mirror’s website which is potentially harmful.

Our advice, echoed by all police forces who have issued warnings about this phishing scam, is NOT to click on this link.

We would also ask that if you are an admin of a local Facebook group and have seen this scam, please delete it immediately.

Please also ensure if you are sharing posts to local Facebook groups that they are genuine and are not likely to put other members at risk of being scammed.

Reporting

Report all Fraud and Cybercrime to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or online. Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. Report SMS scams by forwarding the original message to 7726 (spells SPAM on the keypad).