People in east London are being threatened over the phone by an unidentified man who is blackmailing them for money.
Police are looking into reports that the man is contacting individuals and their families.
He threatens them with violence if they do not pay large sums of money to him. A man has been charged in connection with the investigation
Detective Constable Michael Beskine said: “The man’s method is frightening. He obtains the personal details of his victims and then calls them whilst disguising his telephone number as the numbers of his victims' friends and family to trick his victims into answering the phone.
"He tells his victims their addresses, their family member's names and other facts to scare them, before demanding money and threatening them with acts of violence."
An initial investigation identified one group of victims in east London and another group of victims in Bedfordshire.
If you are a victim, call police on 101 or Tweet @MetCC quoting Cad 3849/12FEB21.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here