AN elderly woman says she has been left "frightened and upset" after being targeted for £9,260 in cash by fraudsters posing as special branch police.

The Barrow pensioner, 86, who wishes to remain anonymous, is being comforted by family and friends after the fraudsters nearly conned her out of her life savings.

They forced her to go to the bank to withdraw the cash, then ordered her to keep quiet and lie if she was quizzed.

The elderly lady explained: "I'd just come back from the hairdressers and the phone kept ringing - I didn’t want to answer it but it kept going. When I did speak to them they asked me if I could help because they said they had a man in custody who had 14 different bank cards and that one of them was mine. 

"I did tell them I had not lost mine but they told me that they were the fraud line and that the bank workers were in on it, that they were involved. 

"They gave me a name and a police number and I asked if I could call Barrow police, so I tried to do that and a lady answered the phone and said it was OK to go ahead with it. 

"In the afternoon they asked me to go and get some money from the bank, they asked for £9,260. They told me if anyone asked what I was doing with it in the bank to tell them I was decorating and buying furniture, because the bank was part of the scam."

She said when she got home she was worried but the phone rang again and the conmen told her that they had arrested the security officer at the bank and also the lady that I had spoken to. 

The woman added: "They told me they would pick the money up from my house and they’d have to come in and get some fingerprints. 

"I thought that was a bit strange and decided that I would not give the money over, and I managed to get hold of my neighbour who came round and spoke to those on the phone. She was told that she had to leave the house because she was stopping police from doing their work. 

"The man did come to collect the money but he just left when he was told I wouldn’t give the money to him. That was really lucky and it is scary to think what he could have done. 

"We called 999 from a different phone and the police came round and explained that the police would never ask for money. 

"I am coping with it now and am thankful for my daughters and neighbours and friends who are looking after me, but I am still very frightened and upset. 

"I am obviously very lucky that I didn't lose any money because I know other people have. 

"Deep down I did not want to believe them, but you do not think it would happen to you. 

"I hope this makes everyone aware that it can, because I do not want anyone else to be in this situation or to lose their money."

In the last 11 days fraudsters have conned six pensioners out of more than £30k of their life savings by claiming to be special branch officers or Scotland Yard officers.

Police say there is a possibility they are getting personal information via the dark web to find vulnerable south Cumbria pensioners. 

All the victims' surnames are similar, which leads police to believe the con cell could also be working through the phone directory. 

They have been targeted in various areas of Barrow and south Cumbria.

Detective Sergeant Wayne Dixon described the culprits as "callous" and said it made officers' "blood boil" that six vulnerable pensioners had been targeted in this way.