A VULNERABLE elderly woman has been fleeced of her life savings by fraudsters posing as police officers.

The woman, aged in her 80s, who lives alone in St John’s in Worcester received a telephone call from a man purporting to be a police officer from Hammersmith. He told her that her money was not safe in her bank account and offered to collect it for her and put it into a safe account on her behalf.

The telephone call was received on Friday, June 29 at around 2pm. She withdrew £5,500 from her bank and later that day a courier arrived at her door and she paid over the cash in an envelope. The courier is described as an Asian male in his early 20s, very thin and wearing casual clothing who said he was called ‘Alex’.

The Worcester News has agreed to protect the identity of the woman who has told officers at West Mercia Police that before the man arrived at her door she received a number of telephone calls from a man claiming to be a police officer, asking her to withdraw large sums of money from her account and telling her ‘not to tell anyone’. DI Dave Knight of West Mercia Police, based in Worcester, said similar incidents had been recorded elsewhere in the country but this had been the only such offence in the city recently. The effect of the fraud has been to make her suspicious of the very people who are there to help her.

He said: “She is distressed to the point where we have had to give her a code word so she knows we’re real police and not pretend. Police officers would never ask for items to be purchased or money to be transferred.”

DI Knight said it was possible that such offences were underreported because victims feel embarrassed and that others with dementia may not even realise it had happened at all.

He added: “Don’t be embarrassed. Report it.”

Inspector Tanya Beckett said it was likely the fraud had been carried out by an organised crime group. She said: “They’re specifically looking for vulnerable people, mainly elderly, to target. This is her life savings. My mother is 80 and we all have a relative that we would be concerned about who could possibly be taken in by this. Please look out for your elderly neighbours and relatives.”

Those with information about this offence can call West Mercia Police on 101, quoting incident reference 975s290618.