POLICE and a fraud prevention group have warned people against handing over money and valuables to scammers pretending to be police officers or bank officials.

It comes after a number of "very distressing instances" involving residents in West Yorkshire.

West Yorkshire Police and Action Fraud said the scam begins when victims receive a cold call from a fraudster.

The fraudster purports to be a police officer or bank official and then typically tells the victim to withdraw a sum of money to be collected by someone visiting their home address.

Other versions of the scam include: fraudsters convincing the victim to transfer the money to a "secure" bank account, handing over their bank cards, or high value items, such as jewellery, watches and gold (coins or bullion).

In the case of the bank card, the caller purports to be a police officer or bank official and then informs the victim about "fraudulent activity" in their account.

They then ask for personal information, or even your PIN, to verify who you are.

The fraudster also offers to call you back, so the victim can be sure the caller is genuine, but when you try to return the call, there is no dial tone.

The final part to this version of the scam is, the caller will offer the victim "peace of mind" by having somebody pick up your bank card, to save you the trouble of having to go to your bank or local police station.

Offenders are generally targetting the vulnerable and/or elderly.

In order to protect yourself, it is important to know that your bank, or the police, will never call you to ask you to verify your personal details or PIN by phone.

They will also never offer to pick up your bank card by courier.

If you receive a call like this, you should hang up immediately.

If you meed to contact your bank back to check the call was legitimate, wait five minutes, or use a different line altogether.

This is because fraudsters may stay on the line after you hang up.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "Your debit or credit card is yours: don’t let a stranger take it from you.

"You should only ever have to hand it over at your bank.

"If it’s cancelled or expired, you should destroy it yourself."

If you think you have been the victim of fraud, you should contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud. 

You can do this online, at: actionfraud.police.uk

Or by calling: 0300 123 2040.