A fraudster - or fraudsters - who has been posing as a police officer has scammed Cambridgeshire residents out of over £23,000.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary is aware of three incidents which all took place earlier this month (July 2022) in Peterborough.

On each occasion, the perpetrator pretended to be a police officer and requested a large amount of money to assist with an ongoing investigation.

In each case, the fraudster made contact with the victim by phone, usually telling them that they are investigating bank note fraud at a local bank and they need the victim to withdraw cash for them to collect and inspect.

The money has then been collected from the victim's home by a courier or the fraudster acting as a police officer.

In some cases, the fraudster has been known to ask for bank details instead of cash.

Police are still investigating the scam.

DC Kieran Dolman, a Cambridgeshire Constabulary spokesperson, said: "Remember, the police will never ask you to withdraw money from your account to aid in an investigation or for any other reason, nor will they ever ask for your bank details.

“If you receive a phone call from someone purporting to be a policehttps://bit.ly/3PC6PoV officer and you’re unsure, end the call and contact us on 101 to verify whether this was us.

"Try to use a different phone or wait a couple of minutes before calling, just in case the original caller is still on the line.

"Finally, never hand your bank card or cash to anyone who comes to your front door following a phone call.

"We would urge anyone who believes they have been a victim of such a scam to report it to us as soon as possible."

A police spokesperson said more details about fraud and how to identify it are available on the Cambridgeshire Constabulary website: https://bit.ly/3PC6PoV