Scammers can now mimic the telephone numbers of bank fraud departments printed on the back of credit cards, Devon & Cornwall Police has said.

They are warning the public after a total of £77,000 was stolen recently from three separate victims.

The victims were called by someone who claimed to be from their bank, and said that they needed to have their money moved into a so-called 'holding account' as they were being targeted by fraudsters.

Contact Officer Mark Rothwell said: "These criminals were extremely convincing and persistent, and called from phone numbers that appeared to be genuine numbers used by the victims' banks' fraud departments.

"We'd ask people to please be vigilant and not give out any personal information such as your date of birth or bank details to unexpected callers.

"Police or your bank will not unexpectedly call you and ask you to withdraw cash, or move your money to another account, as a result of fraud or any other reason.

"A genuine caller will not mind you checking their credentials, and don't be afraid to put the phone down if you suspect they are scammers."

If you think that you've been a victim of this scam, you should contact police on 101 on a different phone than the one used to communicate with the scammers, or email [email protected]

If the fraud is in progress, or someone's life is in danger, call 999 immediately.

For more advice, you can visit the police's website here.