A WOMAN in her 70s near Ringwood was conned out of about £4,000 by a fraudster posing as a police officer.

Police say at about 10.30am on December 9, a woman living off Sandy Lane in St Ives received a phone call on her mobile phone from a man claiming to be a police officer from Scotland Yard.

He told the victim to call 999 and remained on the line so the victim believed she was speaking to the police after ending his call.

The offender told the victim her bank had been compromised and she needed to withdraw money and hand it over to him. She was asked to confirm her date of birth, address and full name.

Later that day she withdrew a quantity of cash. She received a number of calls from the offender who demanded she keep her mobile phone on.

And at 2am last Thursday (December 10), the offender called the victim again and ordered her to go to the bank withdraw more cash and wait at home for a plain clothed officer to arrive.

At 5am the victim handed over about £4,000 to a man who claimed to be a police officer.

He is described as of Middle Eastern appearance, five feet nine inches tall, with short dark hair and of scruffy appearance.

He was wearing blue jeans.

Detective Sergeant Ian Allen said: “I am appealing to anyone who saw a man matching this description in the Sandy Lane area at the relevant time to please call me on 101.

“This is not the first time residents in Dorset have been targeted by fraudsters posing as police officers.

"These offenders are highly convincing and often change their tactics to get people to hand over large sums of money, bank cards and valuable items.

“I would like to remind everyone that the police will never call you and instruct you to withdraw money from your account.

"We will never ask for PIN numbers.

“If anyone arrives at your address claiming to be a police officer, ask to see their warrant card and call 101 to confirm their identity."

He added: “We’d urge people to dismiss any calls they receive like this and report them to police by calling 101.”

Police are reminding the public to:

  • Never reveal bank details including PIN to anyone – banks will already have these details and will never ask for your card back
  • If you receive an unexpected call from someone claiming to be from your bank, do not give them any details, hang up and call your bank on their regular contact telephone number and the police – wait at least two minutes after hanging up to make the calls to ensure that the line is clear or use a different telephone
  • Do not give your bank cards or any valuable items to strangers whatever reason they may give you to part with them
  • Do not allow any unknown or unexpected callers inside your home. If you are suspicious, call 999 immediately
  • Do not hand over any cash to people unknown to you

Anyone with information is asked to call Dorset Police on 101 quoting 10:100 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.