AN elderly woman was almost conned out of several hundred pounds after fraudsters told her she was owed compensation.

The woman received a phone call from someone claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice who told her they had a cheque for her for unclaimed PPI insurance.

The caller told the victim there were agents in the area who would hand-deliver the cheque, but first she would have to buy iTunes cards to cover the tax and call the “Ministry of Justice” back to pass on the serial numbers.

On Thursday, the woman visited her bank to ask advice when she became suspicious.

Staff alerted the police and the target of the attempted fraud did not lose out.

Officers have released details of the incident because they say the scam has been used to target people in the Newcastle and Gateshead areas.

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: “The fraudsters appear to know peoples’ names, numbers and postcodes but have no further details.

“They sound genuine and sound like they are calling from a call centre environment.

“Police are urging people to be aware of the scam and to spread the word about it to friends and family, especially elderly or more vulnerable people”.

Police say that further advice is available from Action Fraud on 0300 1232040.