Police have warned people to be aware of scammers who tricked a Suffolk couple into losing more than £21,000 after being contacted by fake officers in a phone scam.

On Friday, October 6, a woman from the Windgap Lane area of Haughley, received a telephone call from a man, saying he was a police officer and that he was investigating a fraud and required assistance.

He then instructed the woman to withdraw £7,800 from her bank account which was then collected by a man later that day at 4pm.

The following day, the man telephoned again and asked her to withdraw a further £13,200 which was collected by the same person later that day at around 2pm along with £200 cash that the woman already had in the house.

Three days later the man telephoned again demanding that the victim transfer money between her bank accounts. The victim attended a bank to carry this out but bank staff intervened, stopping the transaction. The man then asked the woman to purchase two Rolex watches worth £18,000 from a jewellers which the victim refused to do.

The man who collected the money is described as being mixed race, in his late twenties or early thirties, skinny, who was wearing smart black trousers and a white shirt.

It is believed that the man who collected the money travelled to the victim’s home by car and police are appealing for anybody who witnessed any suspicious vehicle or activity to contact them on 101 quoting reference 66261/17.

They urged anyone worried about these kind of scams to visit: www.suffolk.police.uk/advice/crime-prevention-z.

Alternatively, report incidents of fraud to Action Fraud using their online reporting tool www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 1232040.