AN ELDERLY woman in Worcester has been conned out of £9,000 as scammers posing as police continue to prey on the vulnerable.

Five incidents were reported in Worcester over the past two days, including one occasion where an elderly woman was pressured into transferring £9,000 to a bank account.

The scammers had convinced her to transfer the money by stating it would assist with the investigation. They also told her not to tell the bank about the call and if asked to state that they money was to buy a car.

Fortunately on the other occasions the victims did not transfer any money.

West Mercia Police have run awareness campaigns encouraging people to be aware of a courier fraud scam.

The scammers call landlines to pretend that they are from police, stating that the cards have been used fraudulently.

They will then ask their victims to call their bank to cancel their cards but will in fact remain on the line in order to obtain bank details.

In the past the offenders have been known to send couriers out to collect bank cards but recently the scammers have asked victims to transfer the money to a ‘secure police account’.

Superintendent Kevin Purcell said: “Please remember that this is a scam and police will never ask you to transfer money to a bank account. If you receive a call like this, hang up immediately and call 101 using another phone. In an emergency or if a crime is in progress call 999.

Please make sure that your friends and family are aware, particularly those who may be elderly or vulnerable. The more people we can make aware of this scam, the less chance they have of being targeted by these criminals.”

If you have any information call West Mercia Police on 101.