PEOPLE in York are being warned about a scam doing the rounds.

North Yorkshire Police say courier fraud is an old scam but one which residents are still falling victim to and the fraudsters have come up with a slightly different approach to it.

The force says that in its most recent form, the victim receives a phone call claiming to be from their bank’s ‘fraud team’, and sometimes they will claim to be a police officer, saying that they need to either open a new account with the same bank or that they need to remove their money to a different account for safekeeping due to fraudulent activity from staff in their local branch.

The victim is then advised to attend their bank and withdraw substantial amounts of money in cash before sending it first class recorded delivery to a specified address for ‘safekeeping’.

They are told to lie to bank staff about what the money is for, such as building work or to purchase a new car.

A police spokesman said: "We’ve already had two instances of this fraud where the scammers have convinced the victims to send money, before they have realised something isn’t right and reported it to us.

"It's key to remember, that the police or your bank will never ask you to send, transfer or withdraw money for safekeeping.

"Please let your family and friends know about this latest scam and help keep everyone safe.

"If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, notify your bank immediately and call us on 101."