BRIDPORT police are urging neighbours to alert West Dorset elderly and vulnerable residents to a phone scam that has targeted 15 homes inside a fortnight.

Scammers are using increasingly more credible ways to cheat people out of money, Bridport Police inspector Mike Darby warns.

Most of the callers claim to come from London police stations – but in at least two cases the fraudsters say they are from Bridport Police.

Insp Darby said: “People are falling for these scams. A Dorset resident has fallen for it and lost £40,000 and there is very little hope of recovering that money.”

Insp Darby said although it was predominately the elderly and vulnerable who are targeted, there were still instances where younger people were tricked. He said when people are caught unaware they can be easily duped.

He added: “It is not only the financial aspect – but also psychologically.

“There is a very significant impact on people who have been tricked and conned, particularly when they come from a trusting generation.

“When you say you are a policeman people automatically believe you, especially from the older generation.”

He said the true number of victims was very hard to determine.

He added: “The reality is we don’t know the numbers of people who have fallen for this because they may not know them themselves.

“I appeal to people who have vulnerable friends or relatives or neighbours as part of their neighbourhood responsibilities, speak to them and ensure they understand the dangers because these people are getting cleverer.”

An 82-year-old man from Bridport was saved from becoming a victim because, he says, he read about similar scams in the Bridport and Lyme Regis News.

The man, who does not wanted to be named, said he was called last Friday by a man claiming to be a detective constable.

He said: “He started the call by saying ‘this is quite serious’ and he had in front of him some card numbers he believed belonged to me.

“He gave me his name and actual police number. But as soon as he started talking about cards and after I saw the story last week in the Bridport News I told him I wanted more proof.

“He was quite feasible and he sounded exactly like you hear constables talking on television.

“He did mention a figure of £4,600 to do with the card – I suppose he was implying that was how much had gone missing from my account.”

A couple in their 60s in Charmouth were targeted last Thursday. They have caller ID and never normally answer withheld numbers but the woman had just been speaking to her bank, which is also a withheld number.

She said: “The phone rang again and I thought it was the bank again. This man said he was Detective Wright from Paddington Green Police Station. He said they’d picked up someone in London with both our cards. He was very plausible and I was taken off guard.

“It made me angry. The policeman who came to see us said some people have lost thousands.”