POLICE in Gloucestershire are warning people to be aware of telephone scams targeting the county today.

The constabulary's control room has received two reports so far where a person in Stroud and another person in Cirencester have been targeted by fraudsters.

In one case a trickster called a woman aged in her 70s in Cirencester, claiming to be a police officer from Brixton.

They said someone had been using her bank card in London and that they had made an arrest.

In a separate incident, reported shortly after 11.30am today, a man aged in his 90s and from Stroud was called by someone claiming to be a police officer.

The caller said he was from Paddington Police Station and that they had arrested someone for using his bank card.

These are both scams and Gloucestershire Constabulary is urging people to make their elderly friends, relatives and neighbours aware that this is happening.

The tricksters often ask the person they have called to hang up and dial 999 to confirm they are a police officer, however they leave the phone line open and you end up talking to the same person, or someone working with them.

Thankfully in these two reported cases both people were not tricked, and instead called police off a different line.

Police say fraudsters often choose a dialling code and target one area with numerous phone calls for a number of days before moving on to another location.

If you think you or someone you know has been defrauded, you can report it to Action Fraud online or by calling 0300 123 2040.