An elderly woman from Highgate has fallen prey to a bogus caller who stole from her bank account after claiming he was a police officer, in a scam known as “courier fraud”.

A conman called at the woman’s home in Talbot Road pretending to be a detective from Holborn police station on Bank Holiday Monday, and told her that three people had cloned her bank cards.

She was told to ring her bank and given a bogus number to call.

When she dialled, another man pretended to be an employee and asked for her PINs.

She was then told a courier would come and collect her bank cards.

She handed them over to a white, slim man with dark, short hair. Later, the thieves withdrew money from her account.

Police have warned residents to be vigilant and never to reveal PINs.

Any suspicious calls should be reported to police by dialling 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.