CRIMINALS have now fraudulently taken more than £30,000 from elderly residents in South Cumbria.

On Tuesday, May 3, a 76-year-old man from Cartmel Fell was called by someone purporting to be from the Met Police, who told the victim he needed to transfer money to him.

He was advised to hang up and dial a different number to confirm. The victim did this and spoke to a female.

Fortunately the transaction would not go through and no money was transferred.

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Yesterday (May 4) an 86-year-old female from Barrow was called by someone purporting to be a Sgt Reynolds from New Scotland Yard.

She was told they had someone in custody for using her card and she had to transfer money to them, but not to tell anyone else.

The victim transferred more than £13,000.

This follows four other similar incidents that occurred in Barrow last week which saw the scammers steal around £18,000 with an attempt to take a further £16,000.

Police would like to re-iterate their message to the elderly as well as to relatives, friends and family members.

Sergeant Wayne Dixon said: “These criminals are continuing to target the elderly in the Barrow area and are managing to scam the elderly out of thousands of pounds.

“Again in these latest incidents they have claimed to be from the police and given information including a name, collar number, warrant ID and crime reference.

“In some of these cases the male has persuaded the victim to call 999 to verify these details, but the man stayed on the phone keeping the line live and used a female accomplice to pretend the victim had got through to the police.

“Unfortunately there are people out there who will attempt to gain money fraudulently and target the community. I strongly advise anyone who receives calls like this to hang up immediately and do not provide any personal details. The police would never ask you to hand over or transfer money.

"If you are ever unsure if a call from the police is genuine, ask for the person’s name and collar number then hang up. Using a different phone if possible, as like in this case the caller may still be linked to yours, dial 101 and ask for that specific person – if they are genuine, the Communications Centre will be able to put you through to them.

“I’d also like to ask anyone with elderly relatives, neighbours or friends, to make sure they are aware that this is happening in their area and what to do if they are called by these criminals.”

For advice, please contact Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.org.uk or contact the Action Fraud Hotline on 0300 123 2040.

To report a crime, contact Cumbria Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. ​​​