A FLINTSHIRE resident has been scammed out of thousands of pounds by a telephone fraudster.

The victim was contacted by phone by a person purporting to be working for BT, police said.

They told the victim that his software had been compromised and convinced him to turn on his computer to allow them to access it remotely.

When the victim became suspicious the caller changed the story claiming to be from the National Crime Agency. Despite the victim terminating the call the fraudsters were able to remove £15,000 from the victim’s bank account within a matter of minutes.

DC Rachel Roberts, North Wales Police financial abuse safeguarding officer, said: "Fraudsters can be very convincing and forceful on the telephone. We would like to remind the public never to give out any personal financial details to anyone you don’t know over the phone, or allow access to their computer, as banks and legitimate providers will never request such action.

"If you have any suspicions about the legitimacy of a call hang up. It is recommended that if you call the company back wait 10 minutes to ensure the fraudsters have cleared the line before calling a number you know and trust, preferably from a different phone."

Further information can be found at www.north-wales.police.uk.

If you have received similar calls or have been a victim of fraud please report it to Action Fraud via their website www.actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 20 40.