A DROITWICH woman has lost £5,000 in one of the latest incidents of fraud in Worcestershire.

The 77-year-old woman received a telephone call on Saturday, March 1 from a man who claimed to be a London police officer.

The man told her that her bank account had been compromised, and that she should withdraw the balance of £5,000, and it would be collected by a courier for safe keeping.

The ‘courier’ was actually a taxi driver, hired by the fraudsters to deliver their cash.

The fraud followed straight after another incident involving a couple from Worcester who had £2,400 stolen after they were told their bank cards had been cloned.

Other Droitwich residents, as well as others in Worcester and Craven Arms, also received similar telephone calls, but were suspicious and did not comply with the fraudsters requests.

A spokesman for West Mercia Police urged residents to be vigilant with their bank details over the phone. Banks and police officers will never ask for account details or PINs over the phone, and would not come round to the house to collect customers’ bank cards or property.

Anyone receiving a similar call, should hang up immediately and dial 999 using another phone.

Anyone who might have already been taken in by this scam, or know someone who has, should make sure that their bank cards are cancelled, and call West Mercia Police on 101 or alternatively they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.