A Blackburn pensioner was scammed into buying a £38,000 Rolex watch by a man claiming to be a police officer.

The victim, a man in his 70s from the Roe Lee, was contacted on Tuesday (June 28) by a fraudster pretending to be a police man who told the victim that his bank card had been cloned and used in a fraud in London.

The victim was then asked to call 161 to verify that the fraudster was a police officer. A woman – also a fraudster –falsely confirmed that the man the victim had been speaking to was a police officer.

The victim was later contacted by somebody claiming to be working for a bank’s fraud team on a covert police investigation with the fake police officer.

They convinced the victim to purchase a £38,000 Rolex from a jewellers in Blackburn.

The watch was later collected by an Asian male claiming to be a police officer in plainclothes. He is described as being in his 20s or 30s with black hair and was wearing a high vis vest, blue jeans and white trainers.

The fraudsters asked the victim to transfer £35,000 from his bank account but he refused.

No arrests have been made at this stage but enquiries are very much ongoing.

DC Blair Patterson said: “This is an appalling crime committed against a very vulnerable victim.

“Our enquiries are ongoing to identify the people involved in this fraud. I would ask anybody who saw a man matching the above description in the Roe Lee area of Blackburn – or captured him on CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage – around 1.10pm on Thursday (June 30) to get in contact with us as soon as possible.

“I would like to appeal for local jewellers or pawn shop owners to get in contact if you are offered the Rolex watch pictured for sale. I would also ask that you remain vigilant for any elderly or vulnerable people who come into your stores and ask to buy an expensive watch. Although they might be making a genuine purchase, they could also be the victims of this kind of fraud.

“These fraudsters have no morals and will use multiple tactics in a bid to con victims into either handing over money, their bank details or in this case a valuable watch. Scammers target elderly and vulnerable people so please make your loved ones aware.

“It is important to stress that genuine police officers will never ask for your bank details, money or for you to help with investigations in this way. If you get a phone call from someone saying they are from the police or the bank do not provide your account details or hand over any cash. If you are ever unsure about the identity of an officer, always call the police on 101.”

Anyone with information is asked to email 2881@lancashire.police.uk or call 101, quoting 0692 of July 2, 2022.

For help and advice about how you can stay safe from scammers visit Action Fraud via https://www.fscs.org.uk/news/related/?topic=Action+Fraud&page=1 or call 0300 123 2040.