RESIDENTS are being warned to be alert to possible fraud after £3,000 was stolen from a person's bank account in a scam.

Between last Monday (Feb 10) and Friday (Feb 14), four incidents occurred where Wokingham residents received a phone call from someone claiming to be from the Metropolitan Police Fraud Investigation Unit, who said they had two suspects in custody that had cloned their bank cards.

They asked the victims to call back on the number on the back of the card, after which their card details including their pin was taken.

The victims were then told to put the card in an envelope and hand it over to the courier who came to pick it up as they were needed urgently by the forensic team.

Three of the incidents were attempted courier frauds as the victims did not hand over their personal details, however in one of the incidents, on Friday (14/2) details were handed over and £3,000 was stolen from the victim’s bank account.

Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Jackie Daniels, of Twyford neighbourhood policing team, said: “I would urge anyone who may have information about the incident to contact the police.

“If you have also been a victim and not reported it yet, or had someone attempt the same or similar scam on you, then also get in touch.

“I would also urge everyone to follow the crime prevention advice below and get a better understanding of what courier fraud is.” If you have any information in regards to the incident above, call Thames Valley Police non emergency number 101 and ask to speak to PCSO Daniels.

The general target group for these fraudsters is 60-years-old and over.