CHESHIRE Police have issued a warning after a number of people recently fell victim to phone fraudsters.

Police are aware of several incidents in Warrington, in particular in Lymm, where elderly people have been told that their bank cards had been compromised and needed to be cancelled.

They are then advised to hang up and ring the bank or police back to ensure the call is genuine. The offender stays on the line so the caller believes they are genuine.

They then tell the victim that a courier will pick up the cards and that there will be a charge for this.

The cards are then picked up from the victim′s address and used by the offenders to steal money from their account.

PC James Read said: "Not only do they take money from your account; they charge you a fee for the privilege.

"Don′t be afraid to put the phone down on someone if you are unsure about handing over details.

"Banks never call and ask for your four-digit card Pin or ask you to withdraw money to hand over to them or transfer money to another account.