DORSET residents are being urged to remain vigilant while on the phone following a number of reports of scammers posing as police officers.

Scammers are said to be stating they are members of the Dorset force often referencing a nearby station or a fake badge number.

They claim to be ‘investigating a crime’ where the potential victim’s bank card had been cloned.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: “Typically, the bogus police officer claims that the cloned card was found on a person they have arrested and that in order to prosecute they need the victim’s bank card details to verify the cloned card is an unauthorised copy.

“The police will never ask you for your bank card details or your PIN number. Increasingly fraud is becoming more complicated and deceptive, much of which is targeted at vulnerable and elderly people.

“Fraud can be initiated in many ways, through emails, letters, telephone calls and face to face contact.”

Fraud prevention measures can be found via the Dorset Police website.