An elderly woman from Cambridgeshire has fallen victim to fraud after scammers managed to swindle more than £14,000 worth of items from her. 

The woman, who is in her seventies received a phone call from someone she believed to be a police officer last week (February 5).

The pensioner was then convinced that there was suspicious activity in her bank account by the fraudsters.

They successfully coerced the woman, from Ely, into buying high value goods worth more than £14k to "protect her money".

The items were delivered to her Cambridgeshire home, and a "courier" came over to collect them. 

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The elderly woman is the latest victim to be scammed out of her money by fraudsters.

Cambridgeshire Police have since issued important advice on how to spot a scammer. 

A spokesperson for the force said: "We, local authorities, or your bank, would never ask for:

- Your bank account details or PIN number over the phone.

- You to withdraw money and send it via a courier, taxi or by any other means

- You to send your bank cards or any other personal property via courier, taxi, or by any other means

"If you're unsure about whether the person you're dealing with is a genuine police officer – stop – and call us on 101 to check their identity.

If you've been on the phone to someone, who called you, but you have doubts about them, we recommend that you hang up and wait five minutes before you call us to make sure that the call has closed."

Action Fraud, who deal with fraud cases on a daily basis, also have good advice if you're concerned about scammers.

A spokesperson for Action Fraud said to "call 0300 123 2040" if you've been scammed.

"If you’ve given your bank details over the phone or handed your card to a courier, call your bank straight away to cancel the card."