A DORSET resident was only saved from being scammed out of £20,000 by phone fraudsters when their bank flagged up the irregular transfer at the last minute.

Dorset Police say there has been another victim of telephone based bank account fraud in the county.

The victim, who lives in East Dorset, was contacted by someone claiming to be from the fraud department of their bank, and told that a member of staff at their local bank was fraudulently taking funds from the account.

They told the victim to call the number on the bottom of a card to talk to the banks fraud department.

The victim did this, but the line had not cleared properly and so they ended up speaking to someone involved with the scam.

The Dorset resident was then told to attend their local branch and transfer the funds of their account into another account, specified by the fraudsters.

This victim transferred approximately £20,000 into the fake account.

It was only once the victim was home that they called the fraud number on the card again and spoke to the real fraud department.

A Dorset Police spokesperson said: “This victim has been incredibly lucky as the bank managed to stop the transfer and retrieve the funds.

“Please do not give out any bank details over the phone. Your real bank will never ask for these details when contacting you.

“Please share this information and help stop something like this happening again.”

This scam - known as courier fraud or telephone fraud - is happening nationwide.

The fraudsters pretend they are from the police, a bank, retailer or fraud department and tell their usually elderly and vulnerable victim that their account has been compromised and to dial 999 or their bank to confirm the call is genuine.

They keep the line open and use different techniques into tricking their victim that they’re genuine and persuade them into handing over their bank details, Personal identification Number (PIN) or cash for safe keeping.

This year, Dorset residents have lost more than £350,000 and more than £1 million since March 2014.

In March, police received 167 reports of telephone fraud, with 16 victims losing a combined total of £250,000.

Police Advisory Guidelines:

• The police, bank or retailer will NEVER call you asking for your bank details

• NEVER give out your bank details or Personal Identification Number (PIN) over the phone

• NEVER send money or cash cards via taxi or courier

• If you receive a suspicious call, hang up, wait five minutes (or use a different phone), dial 1471 and then call the police immediately on 101