AN elderly couple from Honiton have been swindled out of thousands of pounds after they were contacted by men pretending to be detectives.

The couple received numerous calls from a withheld number where a man claimed to be a detective working undercover at the local police station.

The man also claimed he was part of a national operation to identify counterfeit money within the local area and advised he was “recruiting” the victims as undercover civilians to gather money to be checked.

On Wednesday, December 4, the man asked the victim to gather 7,000 euros which was collected later that evening by an unknown man. He has since been described as being Afro-Caribbean.

On Thursday, December 5, a similar incident occurred where the victim was asked to gather more money.

The victim’s wife drove to several local banks and building societies to withdraw approximately 11,000 pounds.

That evening, a different man attended the victims’ home and collected the money. He was described as being a Middle Eastern male.

Police were later alerted and an investigation was launched. Enquiries are currently ongoing including house-to-house enquiries and checking local CCTV.

Anyone with information specific to this case is asked to contact police via the police website or by calling 101 quoting 50240308379.

If you think you have been a victim of fraud, a scam, or online crime (cybercrime) you can report it to Action Fraud: online or on 0300 123 2040 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm).

Action Fraud is the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. It collects reports about fraud on behalf of the police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For fraud in Scotland please report it directly to Police Scotland.

Further helpful advice on how to spot phone fraud can be found on the following Government website .

Advice can also be obtained by visiting the Take 5 tell 2 campaign which advises individuals to take five minutes and tell two trusted people before any action is taken. Nothing needs doing right now, and only a fraudster will have that sense of urgency.