FRAUDSTERS stole £30,000 from Winchester pensioners in a scam involving a fake courier collecting money they convinced their victims to withdraw from the bank.

An 89-year-old Twyford woman lost £17,000 from a phone scammer claiming money had been stolen from her account, while an 84-year-old Compton man lost £13,000 to the same con.

Last Tuesday, May 12, the woman received a call from a person pretending to be a police officer, the force has said.

The man told her that money had been stolen from her bank. The victim called her bank to verify the information, but was actually talking to the fraudster, who had kept the phone line open.

The woman pretended she worked for the bank, and told the victim to do what the 'police officer' said.

She then spoke to the man again. He convinced her to withdraw £8,000 from her bank, which was collected from her home on Dolphin Hill, Twyford, by a man at around 6.30pm that day.

On the following two days, May 13 and 14, the victim was convinced to withdraw more money. At 5pm on May 13 and 6pm on May 14, a man arrived to collect more money. On May 15 the victim returned to her bank to withdraw a further £8,000 but the bank became suspicious and contacted the police.

The conman who collected the money on May 12 is described as white, slim, in his 30s, around 5ft 10ins with short brown hair, dressed smartly in a white shirt and dark jacket.

The man who collected the money on the other occasions is described similarly, police said, but the other victim was unsure about his hair colour.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, May 13, the 84-year-old man received a phone call from a person using the same scam.

He was convinced to withdraw £7,000, which was collected by a man from his home in Compton at around 6.30pm that day.

This was repeated on May 14 and a different man collected £6,000 at 7.30pm. The victim lost £13,000 in total.

Police said the two men involved in the Compton incident may be linked to a grey Peugeot.

The man who collected the money on May 13 is described as mixed race, in his mid-20s, no taller than 5ft, skinny and wearing a duffel raincoat with a brown hood.

His conspirator who attended on May 14 is described as black, in his early 20s, 5ft 8ins, slim and smartly dressed.

Detective Constable Alexander Hall, said: “These offenders are targeting the elderly and vulnerable members of our communities and are stealing huge amounts of money from them; money that these people have worked their entire lives for.

“I am appealing for anyone who may have seen the men in the area of Twyford or Compton to come forward and speak to us. Did you see a grey Peugeot in the Compton area on May 13 or 14?

“I am also appealing for members of the community to be aware of this scam and for them to tell elderly or vulnerable neighbours, family or friends about it. Police officers will never ask people to withdraw money from their bank so if you are asked to do this, it is not real, it’s a scam. I am urging everyone to spread this message to any elderly or vulnerable relatives or friends to stop them falling foul of this awful crime.”

Anyone who is concerned about similar incidents or has information relating to these incidents should contact police by calling 101.