POLICE are warning the public to be aware of the activities of fraudsters posing as officers in a telephone con attempt.

Victims are targeted in calls, supposedly from the police, in a bid to fleece them of their life savings.

Two recent incidents in the Wearside area are under investigation by the Northumbria force, which has issued a wider regional warning for people to be on their guard.

Recipients of the calls are told by the ‘officer’ that their bank account is at risk of being hacked and they face having their money stolen.

They are told to contact their bank and withdraw all savings from their account as soon as possible and that a police officer would come to their house, collect it and take statements.

But they are then told to hang up and ring their local police station to confirm the story is genuine.

The victim then ends the call, thinking they have hung up on the caller, but the offender does not hang up, keeping the line open and the call going.

When the bemused member of the public then dials the local police office, and believes they have made contact with someone within the force, they are, in fact, still talking to the fraudster, or an associate, who falsely confirms their bank account is at risk and the ‘officer’ they have just spoken to, is genuine.

A date and time is then arranged time for a visit to pick up the cash, as well as to take a statement.

Police are urging people to be aware of the scam and has urged then to take steps to avoid becoming a victim.

Among the advice issued is to verify the caller or recipient, and to ensure the phone has not been “compromised”, by using a different phone to make follow on calls.

If a second phone line is not available, would-be victims should call a family member, or a friend, on the line first, as the fraudster would find it difficult to impersonate a familiar voice with any accuracy.

Police advise people to never disclose bank details either in conversation on the phone, even if the caller claims to be from the bank or police, or online.

The simple watchword is that banks would never call and ask account holders to disclose security details.

Recipients are urged in such circumstances to end the call immediately.

Should a suspicious or unexpected call be received, the householder is always urged to verify the caller by taking their phone number and having it checked independently.

In cases where a suspected fraud attempt has been made, relatives and neighbours should be made aware of it, and crime prevention advice should be sought.

Anyone with suspicions about such a call should ring police immediately, via the 101 number, asking for extension 69191.