THOUSANDS of pounds have been stolen from elderly victims as they are targeted by fraudsters pretending to be police officers.

West Mercia Police said it has seen a rise in calls to people living in Herefordshire as victims answer the phone to people pretending to be officers from services around the country.

Across the county in the last week there have been several successful and unsuccessful attempts to defraud people using telephone scams, police say.

READ MORE: Fraudster strikes in Herefordshire villages

In some cases there have been thousands of pounds successfully taken, and DC Rose was sometimes used as an alias.

According to a police spokesperson, fraudsters may give alleged crime numbers, investigation details and job titles, and claim that the transaction must be done in secret.

Detective Sergeant Jon Cooper said: "Don't trust anyone who calls you about your bank details.

"Always hang up and wait 10 minutes to ensure the call has disconnected before calling 101.

"Scams can be very elaborate, very convincing and cruel. If you think someone is trying to scam you, tell someone straight away.

"Don't be pressured. Give yourself time to stop and think.

"We are working hard to identify these cowards conning our elderly and vulnerable family members and friends and over the weekend two men were charged with fraud in a case similar to others in Herefordshire over the weekend."

Raja Hussain, 23, of Rowley Close in Wembley and Ibrahim Mahmood, 22, of High Road in London were both charged with conspiracy to commit fraud.

At Kidderminster Magistrates Court today, the pair have been remanded in custody to appear at Worcester Crown Court on December 16.

On one occasion, the victim was told to go to her bank and withdraw more than £8,000. The victim was asked to dial 999 to give some authenticity to the scam, but the line was kept open.

The victim was not challenged by her bank and handed the money over to a 'courier' at a prearranged meeting.

Advice from the police if you get a suspicious phone call is to hang up, don't provide any personal details and then report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040.

If the crime is still in progress, call police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.