AN Andover pensioner handed over thousands of pounds to courier fraudsters after taking a phone call from a fake police officer.

In the last two weeks two women in their late 80s, who live in the local area, have been targeted by conmen resulting in one victim handing over £6,000 in cash.

Police are now urging members of the public to warn elderly relatives about receiving phone calls from fake police officers.

Both victims received a telephone call from someone pretending to be from the police saying that they were investigating fraudulent transactions in the victim’s bank account.

They were asked to withdraw cash from their account and that a courier would be sent to collect it.

Hampshire Police have confirmed that they would never ask anyone to withdraw or hand over money and are advising anyone who receives similar calls to contact them on 101.

Courier fraud begins with a telephone call from someone pretending to be from the police or the bank.

The fraudster will then claim there is an issue with the card or bank account and ask the victim to reveal personal information, including their PIN number.

Once they have that information, a courier will be sent to collect the card which they can then use to withdraw money from the account.

There are many other variations on this including being told there is an outstanding tax bill or loan that needs paying off to avoid being arrested.

Fraudsters may also ask those they target to buy a high value item to help identify counterfeit goods or to withdraw a large amount of money to catch a corrupt member of staff at the bank or Post Office.

Officers have issued the following advice:

• Never tell anyone your PIN number

• Never give personal information or bank account details to anyone over the phone

• Never hand over your card, money or valuables to someone at the door to be sent off elsewhere.

• If someone calls claiming to be a police officer, ask for their identification number and police force. Hang up and call 101 using a different phone. If a different phone can’t be used, wait at least five minutes before calling back. A genuine police officer will not mind waiting while you check.

• Police and banks will never ask you to give out personal details such as account numbers or PIN numbers.

• If you have given out information which could compromise your bank account security in any way, call your bank up to cancel your cards as soon as possible.

• Never hand over money to someone at the door to be sent off elsewhere.

For more information, visit https://www.hampshire.police.uk/advice/protecting-yourself-and-others/fraud-and-identity-theft/