AN ELDERLY couple were swindled out of more than £10,000 by a man pretending to be a police officer.

The couple, who live in Windlesham, received a phone call on August 6 from a man claiming to be a police officer, and asked them to withdraw £10,500 from Barclays Bank in Ascot.

The caller said he was investigating an illegal purchase on the victim’s credit card and asked the victims to be part of a “confidential police investigation” to obtain evidence against the staff at the bank who, he claimed, were giving out counterfeit notes.

The couple were talked into withdrawing the money and the man then arranged to collect the money from their home address. He booked a taxi to the victims’ address and after collecting the money, the taxi, which was not involved in the fraud, took the suspect to Sunningdale train station.

The man is described as in his 20s, dark-skinned, between 5ft 9 and 5ft 10 tall, of a slim build, with dark black or brown short hair and was wearing a black or brown baseball cap, grey jogging bottoms and a white or cream top.

Surrey Police would never ask anyone to withdraw money as part of any investigation. Although on this occasion, the caller did give the victims a number to check that he was genuine, the only number that you should use to check whether you are speaking to a police officer is 101.

If you recognise this man, or you have any other information which could assist our investigation, please contact us on 101, quoting crime reference number PR/45180084518 or, if you do not wish to leave your name, call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.