FRAUDSTERS posing as police officers have been conning money out of people in Basingstoke.

Conmen have been pretending to be working for Basingstoke officers in a bid to get money out of residents, police said.

"Basingstoke Police continue to receive reports that individuals pretending to be in the police have managed to convince residents to hand over sums of money.

"These pretend officers often use the excuse that it is required as a part of an investigation into fraudulent activity associated with their bank account," Basingstoke Cops shared to their Facebook page.

The spokesman said the police did not want to scare the public but make people aware that there were fraudsters trying to take advantage of trusting people.

The police spokesman said one can easily prevent themselves from becoming a victim of this type of scam by bearing in mind the following advice:

- The police will never turn up at your door or ring you on the phone and ask you for your PIN, bank card or sums of money.

- The police will never ask you to withdraw money

- The police will never ask you to send your bank cards, or any other personal property

- If you are not happy with a phone call and are suspicious of the conversation you have with the caller then please end the call and report it to us via 101.

A spokesman added: "If reporting a suspicious phone call to police, ensure you’re not still connected to the offender. Often they encourage the person to ring the police to verify their identity. However, they will try to trick you into thinking that the call has ended but in reality you are still connected and they will pass you on to another person involved in the scam, pretending to be a 999 or 101 call taker.

If you have concerns about your bank account, visit your local branch.