BOGUS police officers have conned Hampshire pensioners into parting with large amounts of cash.

In the worst incident a resident, aged in their 80s, from the Lymington area, parted with £8,000.

In each case someone claiming to be a policeman has called at the home of an elderly resident and asked them to withdraw money to help their investigation.

A police spokesman said: “They tell residents they’ve been a victim of fraud and money in their bank has been replaced with counterfeit money by criminals.

“The ‘police officer’ says he needs the money as evidence and tells them to go to their bank to withdraw the cash.

“The callers have been very convincing, saying they need the money and telling the residents to tell bank staff that the large withdrawal is for a car.

“The fraudster then arranges a person to collect the money from their home address either later that day or in a few days’ time stating that genuine money would be put back into the account upon receipt of the counterfeit notes.”

Det Con Adam Knight said: “A police officer would never ask a member of the public for money in this way.

“If you want to check they are genuine, ask for their name and collar number, hang up and call 101 to check they are genuine.

“Wait until you hear a dial tone to make the call, or use a different phone, such as a mobile.”

The advice to the public is:

- Never give personal or bank account details to anyone who contacts you unexpectedly

- Never tell anyone your PIN number

- If you have given out information which could compromise your bank security in any way, call your bank to cancel your cards as soon as possible

- Never hand over your card, money or valuables to someone at the door to be sent off elsewhere