Hertfordshire Constabulary is warning residents of fraudsters posing as police officers within the county.

A number of instances involving people pretending to be police officers have been reported in recent weeks, Hertfordshire Constabulary has revealed.

During the last week of May fraudsters targeted six residents, and stole £12,000 in total. Fake officers asked residents to hand over their bank cards or money.

These instances took place in Bishop’s Stortford, Letchworth, Rickmansworth, Kings Langley and Radlett. One Letchworth resident lost £8,000 and another resident from Rickmansworth lost £4,000, the police force confirmed.

Five of the victims were contacted by people claiming to be police officers and another by someone posing as a fraud investigator from HSBC.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: £These kinds of scams often involve fraudsters calling the victims via a mobile or a landline number, posing as a police officer or bank official, claiming fraudulent activity has taken place on their bank account. The victims are then instructed to put their bank cards and/or money into an envelope and give them to a courier or taxi, which is sent to their home by the offenders to collect.

“In some cases, the victim may be asked to buy goods or vouchers. If bank cards are collected, they can be used later by the offenders to withdraw large sums of money. The offenders may also ask the victim to disclose their bank details, including their account and PIN numbers, to aid the bogus investigation.”

Detective Inspector Pete Hankins, from the Serious Fraud and Cyber Unit, added: “The number of courier fraud offences reported has been increasing across the eastern region, with people losing large sums of money. It’s important to remember that police officers or bank officials will never ask you for sensitive information, like a PIN or ask you to purchase high value items to assist them with an enquiry.

“Usually, the intended victim realises the call is not genuine and refuses to part with their personal and bank details. However, these fraudsters can be very persuasive and insistent, which has resulted in some people falling victim to this scam and subsequently losing thousands of pounds.”

Hertfordshire Constabulary says residents should be suspicious if they receive a phone call they were not expecting.

Residents are told police officers will never ask for bank account details or pin numbers. They will never ask you to withdraw money or purchase high value items and send it to them via a courier, taxi or by any other means. Or ask for bank cards, or any other personal property, to be sent to them via a courier.

Residents are told that they should report a suspicious phone call to the police by calling 101 or making an online report.

Police advise that residents should wait five minutes before making another phone call after a suspicious one to make sure the offenders are not still on the line.

Alternatively, residents are advised to use a mobile phone or a neighbour’s phone or to test their landline by phoning a friend or relative first, to ensure they aren’t still unwittingly connected to the offender.