POLICE issued an urgent warning about scammers targeting elderly homeowners in North Yorkshire by pretending to be officers.

Four incidents of these scam phone calls were reported to North Yorkshire Police in the Scarborough and Filey area on Monday morning (March 22).

The victims included men and women aged between mid-70s and early 90s.

The callers claimed to be from either 'Hammersmith Police', 'The Met, or 'Scotland Yard'.

The bogus names used included 'Superintendent Shelby', 'DCI James Hardwire', 'Sergeant Fisher', and 'PC Ryan'.

Sadly, two of the residents were tricked into passing their bank details to the scammers which resulted in thousands of pounds being taken from their accounts.

Their banks have been informed about the fraudulent transactions.

North Yorkshire Police’s Financial Abuse Safeguarding Officer, Andy Fox said: "This is a scam we have seen a number of times over the years, but people continue to fall victim because the scammers are so effective at manipulating their victims.

"They will often provide reassurance by getting other scammers to pose as different police officers and call the victims to further convince them the scam is legitimate.

"Whenever we provide these warnings, we often hear people comment that they would never believe something which is so obviously a scam but until you are in that situation, it’s impossible to judge.

"The key thing to remember is that the police or your bank will never call you and tell you to move or withdraw your money or ask you for your banking details.

"If this happens, it is definitely a scam and you should hang up immediately."

If you are worried you may have fallen victim to a scam, call 101 to report this to the police.