A St Albans man has lost thousands of pounds worth of savings to fraudsters over the telephone.

On Tuesday, April 7, the man, aged in his 60s, was called by a woman and man claiming to be from his bank. They convinced him that his bank account had been compromised and persuaded him to transfer the entire contents of his account into another one held by the fraudsters.

Detective Inspector Pete Frost, from the St Albans Local Crime Unit, said: "As anyone can appreciate, having thousands of pounds of your hard-earned cash stolen has a devastating effect and it is therefore vitally important we keep raising awareness of such scams to prevent anyone else falling victim to these ruthless fraudsters.

"The key message to take away is that if you receive a telephone call you’re not expecting you should be suspicious.

"Do not be afraid to end the call.

"The police and banks would never ask you to transfer money from one account to another over the telephone."

If you are not happy with a phone call and are suspicious of the conversation you have with the caller then please end the call and contact police via the non-emergency number, 101.

When reporting a suspicious phone call to police, wait at least five minutes before attempting to make the call or use a mobile or neighbour’s phone to ensure you’re not reconnected to the offender.