Harpenden residents are being warned to watch out for telephone scams after Herts Police say fraudsters are continuing to target the area.

Police are investigating a series of scam phone calls in the county which sees callers pretending to be a police officer or from a bank, requesting bank details and bank cards.

Victims are also told to withdraw large sums of money, often thousands of pounds and a courier is then sent to their house to collect the cash, or their card, which is later used to withdraw money.

Police have received over 100 reports of suspicious phone calls in Herts since the beginning of the year, and in the past week calls have been made to residents in Harpenden.

The majority of people targeted are aged in their 70s, 80s and 90s.

Detectives are carrying out thorough investigations into the crime and a number of arrests have been made.

Det Insp Jason Keane said: “Of these 100 calls, nine people have actually handed over their bank cards or cash, so most people are taking the correct action and saying no on the phone.

“However there are still people who have fallen for this scam, and the victims are deeply affected when they realise the call was not legitimate.

“It is so important that we make many people aware that this is taking place and I would ask people to ensure their older relatives, neighbours and friends are aware.

“It could be your parent or grandparent targeted so we would ask that you remind them that police officers would not ask people to reveal their personal bank account details, including PIN numbers. And we would never ask someone to withdraw money.”