POLICE have issued a public warning following a spate of bank card scams.

Arun Police said they have received several reports of people calling local residents claiming to be the police and asking for bank details and money transfers.

Police are urging the public to remain alert and report this activity to the police.

“We are urging people to be vigilant, as over the last week we have had several reports of persons calling local residents claiming to be from Hammersmith police station as their bank and credit cards have been used for fraudulent activity,” an Arun Police spokesman said.

“They have then been asked to provide their bank details or transfer a large sum out of their account.

“This is a scam.

“The police will never ring you and tell you to verify your pin, withdraw or transfer cash, purchase high value goods or that a courier is coming to your home to collect these items.

“If you receive a call like this then put the phone down and report it. If you provided any bank details, please let your bank know.”

Last month, Adur and Worthing Police issued a warning over fake emails claiming to be raising money for Ukraine.

Almost 200 reports of imitation emails have been made to the UK's national fraud reporting centre – some even claiming to be from former Ukrainian heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

The police and Action Fraud encouraged anyone who receives the fake fundraiser email to forward them to their ‘phishing’ email address.

Email phishing is a type of social engineering where an attacker sends a fraudulent message designed to trick a person into revealing sensitive information to the attacker.