People are being warned after reports of a man impersonating a police officer in an attempt to access debit card information.

Halesworth police officers have issued a warning after receiving a report from a Southwold resident about a man impersonating a Metropolitan police officer.

The resident was called by someone who claimed to be Metropolitan police officer DC Mark Andrews, with the collar number BK187.

Officers say “the caller told the potential victim that he was part of the Visa Fraud team and that a female had been arrested in London trying to purchase two laptops using a debit card showing the informant’s name.”

The person who received the call was suspicious and asked questions which appeared to have deterred the caller, forcing them to hang up before they had asked for personal details or a PIN number.

“Please be aware of these types of calls and always be suspicious of any unexpected contact, especially from those claiming to be police officers,” Halesworth police said.

“If you receive such a call, ask for the officer’s details and which service they work for. Then hang up and use a different phone to contact the police service to verify the caller’s ID2.”

If you have lost money to a scam you can report it to the police at www.actionfraud.police.uk.