An 80-year-old Suffolk woman was phoned last Friday by someone claiming to be a police officer in London.

The impersonator asked the woman, who lives in Beccles, to ring 999 to check the authenticity of the call, but the scammer had held the line open so when she dialled 999 they were still connected.

She was asked to get a taxi and go to a local supermarket to buy £8,000 of Euros from the exchange bureau.

The victim contacted her bank stopping her bank cards and reported the incident to police. No fraudulent activity was found on her card.

She then received a further call to say an appointment had been made for her at the bank, this was also not genuine.

Suffolk police are reminding people to remain vigilant and have issued the following advice:

Your bank or the police will never ask for your PIN, bank card or bank account details over the phone. The police will never call you and ask you to withdraw money from your account to give to a courier or taxi driver, regardless of how convincing they may seem. If you receive such a call leave the landline for at least five minutes before making an outside call. Use a friend’s or neighbour’s telephone instead. Friends, family, carers and neighbours are asked to spread the word to ensure everyone is aware of this scam and what they should do.

If you have been a victim or have information call police on 101 or 999.