POLICE in the Vale of Glamorgan are again warning members of the public to be vigilant after a couple in their 70s were scammed out of £9,000 by a bogus police officer.

This follows an incident last month where Penarth woman Margaret Turner, 95, was scammed out of £20,000 by scam artists posing as police and two similar incidents in March which also saw elderly residents hand over thousands.

In this latest incident a couple from Dinas Powys were called on Monday July 23, by someone purporting to be a police officer and saying that money had been stolen from their account.

The fake officer also said £10,000 had been removed and then redeposited into the couple's account – and that they were investigating large-scale money-laundering as a result.

The couple agreed to assist these bogus police officers by withdrawing £9,000 and passing it on to a courier.

The criminals pretending to be police officers said that because bank staff were being investigated, they were to pretend the money was a gift for their grandson.

It was only after the money was taken away by the bogus courier that the couple realised they had been scammed.

Detective inspector Terry Hopkins said: “I cannot stress enough how sophisticated and well-rehearsed these scammers are, and any one of us could fall victim to their con if we are not vigilant.

“The message is clear – the police will never contact you in this manner – we will never ask for money. All calls of this nature are a scam, and the person receiving the call should hang up as soon as possible.

“I would urge all residents to share this message and raise awareness of this scam. Anyone who receives any suspicious calls should let us know by calling 101.”

If you have any information about this incident, or saw anyone suspicious in the Millbrook Road area of Dinas Powys on Monday afternoon or evening, call police on 101, quoting reference 1800277152.