TWO more reports have been made to police in Barrow today of a scam involving a man claiming to be from New Scotland Yard.

Police say a man has been ringing residents and instructing them to withdraw substantial amounts of money from their bank accounts, claiming he is himself investigating money laundering for the Metropolitan Police.

An 81-year-old woman was called on her home phone on Tuesday afternoon by the man who purports to be from Scotland Yard. 

He told the victim that her bank was subject to a scam and that her money was not safe in her account.

The woman was instructed to go to the bank and withdraw £5,100. This money was then collected from the victim’s home address by a male.

On Thursday an elderly couple were called. The man instructed a 88-year-old woman to withdraw £9,400 claiming it was not safe in the bank and instructed a 73-year-old male victim to transfer £5,420 into a bank account. 

A man later attended the property to collect the money but the woman refused to hand it over.

The alleged fraudster has been described as approximately 5ft 10in, of Asian ethnicity, with a trimmed beard and wearing a woolly hat, casual clothes and an olive green coat.

Today, Barrow Police confirmed two further reports of the scam have been made. No money was taken on both occasions.

Detective Sergeant John Dilks said: "These were elaborate cases of fraud and the fraudsters were clearly very convincing.

"They gave information including a name, collar number, warrant ID and crime reference. 

"They persuaded the victims 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 victims 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."