FRAUDSTERS are pretending to be police when phoning residents in York as part of a new scam.

North Yorkshire Police said a number of residents had received calls from people offering "crime awareness appointments in peoples homes to offer them advice".

However, a force spokeswoman said: "The number is not linked to North Yorkshire Police and is believed to be bogus, please don't let strangers into your home and report incidents to 101."

Detective Inspector Jon Hodgeon from the force's Major Fraud and Economic Crime Unit, said this was likely the latest attempt by fraudsters to target certain residents.

He said: "People aren’t always who they say they are. Fraudsters use a range of tactics to target people, especially the elderly and vulnerable. They may pretend to be from your bank, the police, a utility company, a government department or someone else you usually deal with and trust.

"Never just assume someone is who they say they are. Be confident and refuse unusual requests for personal or financial information. It’s okay to stop the discussion if you do not feel in control of it. If you need to call the police or your bank back to check, wait five minutes and call someone you trust first to make sure the phone line is free or use a different line all together – one of the many tricks fraudsters use is to stay on the line after you hang up to make you think that you are speaking to someone genuine."

Det Insp Hodgeon also advised speaking to a trusted relative, friend or neighbou behore acting or handing over money or details, and always to phone 101 or 999 if a crime is in action.

Incidents can also be reported to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or on 0300 1232040.

Det Insp Hodgeon also offered six tips to the public to help them spot potential scams:

1. The police or your bank will never phone and ask you for your PIN or full banking password, even by tapping them into your phone keypad.

2. The police or your bank will never ask you to withdraw money to hand over to them for safe-keeping or to aid an investigation.

3. The police or your bank will never ask you to transfer money to a safe account for fraud or investigation reasons, even if they say it is in your name.

4. The police or your bank will never send someone to your home to collect cash, PIN, cards or cheque books if you are a victim of fraud.

5. The police or your bank will never ask you to purchase goods using your card and then hand them over for safe-keeping.

6. The police or your bank will never ask you to lie to your bank about why you are withdrawing or transferring money.