A PENSIONER from Petersfield was almost duped out of £1,000 after becoming the victim of a new phone scam.

The 71-year-old woman was called last Friday by a man claiming to be from her bank.

He gave his name as Jason and asked the woman to do a number of things, including leaving the phone off the hook between phone calls and entering codes into the phone key pad.

One of these codes – *21* – diverted the victim’s phone to a different number.

A family member reported the scam to police who are now investigating.

It was later discovered that a number of transactions were pending on the victim’s bank account but were cancelled before more than £1,000 was taken.

Sergeant Stuart Tripp said: "This is the only report of this type that we have received at the moment, but I have not heard of a scam where the victim has had their phone diverted and I’m keen that no-one else is tricked by this scam.

"If you have elderly relatives or neighbours, please share this information with them and report anything suspicious to us by calling 101.”

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: "Never give out any personal information about your bank account to anybody over the phone, never give your PIN number out in any form (including typing in to a keypad), and if someone calls claiming to be a police officer, ask for their identification number and police force.

"Hang up the call and advise that you will call them back using the 101 number. A genuine police officer will not mind waiting while you check. Call them back from a different phone if possible or wait at least 10 minutes before making the call, to ensure they have not left the line open."

And he added: "If you have given out information which could compromise your bank account security in any way, call your bank up to cancel your cards as soon as possible."