Police officers are appealing information after an elderly woman was conned out of thousands of pounds by a person who claimed himself as a police officer.

On 23 March Tuesday at around 12.30 pm, officers got a report of fraud and attended to a property on Bentham Road, Standish. After enquires, police learned that a man who is purporting to be a police officer told the victim- a woman in her 80s- that there is suspicious activity in her husband’s bank account.

The man told to the victim as a part of the investigation, she would need to withdraw £5000 to later be collected from her house. After his request, a woman who was claiming from the bank called the victim and said she would get her money back and would come home to get the money.

Later, a female attended the victim’s house and got the money. The woman is described as middle eastern, in her early 20s with slick black-brown hair, long false nails.

Police Constable Sharpe of GMP’s Wigan district, said: “Preying on vulnerable members of society is despicable and we’re doing all we can to ensure those responsible are identified. We’re appealing to anyone in the area who also may have fallen victim to a similar offence to get in touch with the police. “

“I would also urge members of the community to remain vigilant to this type of activity. It’s important to always be suspicious of phone calls, texts, or emails that come out of the blue asking for personal and financial details or asking you to withdraw money regardless of who they claim to represent.”

Anyone who has information should contact the police on 0161 856 7124 quoting incident 810 of 23/02/21. Alternatively, details also can be passed on anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.