A GRANDMOTHER is warning people to be vigilant after bogus callers tried to get her bank details.

It comes amid a spate of fraudulent calls in Winchester, with as many as 180 recorded in two days by Hampshire Police.

Jean Jones, a retired legal secretary, of Water Lane, said a man with a rough-sounding voice called her at around 8.20pm on Sunday April 12.

"I wouldn't normally have answered the phone because I always check the caller," the mother-of-three and grandmother-of-three said.

"But I was in the bedroom putting my granddaughter to bed and I thought it would be one of the family."

The man pretended to be a police officer from London and said her card had been copied. He told her that it had been blocked and they needed her details.

The 83-year-old said she knew straight away that it was a bogus call, and phoned 999 to report it. However the caller stayed on the line, so when Mrs Jones thought she was speaking to an operator it was in fact the offenders.

When she told the man on the phone she thought it was a scam, the line went dead.

Police have linked the incident to 12 others on the same evening.

DC Alex Hall said: "In actual fact we know that these offenders made up to 180 calls to different Winchester residents over the course of two days. Not all of these calls were answered but it shows the scale on which these people operate.

"If you think you have been targeted by fraudsters and have not yet reported it to the police, please call us."

Mrs Jones said: "They are despicable people. If I had not been quite with it, it doesn't beat thinking about.

"I probably have [been targeted] because they think people in their eighties are going gaga.

"It's taking savings from people's working life. It must be terrible for those whose money has gone.

"How did they know my name?"

DC Hall said: "It is likely that they are using online phone directories, in which they can search age ranges as well as regions, to select their elderly victims.

"I want to reiterate our advice from Hampshire Constabulary and ask that it is passed on to all potential elderly victims in our communities. Please make sure you tell your relatives and friends, and help prevent them from becoming a victim of this sort of crime."

Mrs Jones said she has warned all of her friends to be vigilant with phone calls and never give out personal information.

Hampshire Constabulary advises people to: never give out personal information about bank details over the phone; to ask for police officer's identification numbers and force, then hang up and call 101 10 minutes later to make sure they have not left the line open; call the bank and cancel cards if any information is given out; never hand over money at the door to be sent elsewhere; always ask for identification if someone claims to be a police officer or staff member.