AN ELDERLY St Albans woman targeted by telephone tricksters is anxious to warn other vulnerable people at risk of being conned She realised they were up to no good when they asked her to send them money so they could help her reclaim a sum allegedly overc

AN ELDERLY St Albans woman targeted by telephone tricksters is anxious to warn other vulnerable people at risk of being conned

She realised they were up to no good when they asked her to send them money so they could help her reclaim a sum allegedly overcharged by her bank.

Mrs Barbara Price, aged 80, of Robert Avenue, said she had phone calls last week from people trying to get her bank details.

She was tricked into confirming the name of her bank then this week she got a call from a woman whose accent was difficult to decipher.

She said: "The woman who sounded Asian said she was from somewhere sounding like the Ministry of Justice and had been investigating people being overcharged by their banks. She knew my name and the name of the bank and said I had been overcharged at least �600 by my bank and asked me to send �125 to her so she could send me the legal papers to reclaim my money.

"At that point I ended the conversation as I realised it was some kind of scam but there might be some vulnerable people out there who would fall for it."

A police spokesman said they were aware of various such scams aimed at parting people - particularly the elderly - from their money.

One involved bogus callers claiming to be police officers investigating a fraud.

He said: "A police officer would never ask for bank details and I would strongly advise anyone against handing out personal details or letting people they don't know into their homes.