Cheshire Police are urging residents to remain vigilant following a number of reports of courier fraud across the county.

Over the past few days, officers have received multiple reports of courier fraud whereby victims have been contacted by fraudsters posing a member of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Following an initial phone call, the fraudsters often send a message to the victims via WhatApp, which includes an image of the official FCA logo.

The victims are then told to withdraw or hand over cash or valuable items and provide bank cards or pin numbers. These can then be collected the items from their homes using an Uber taxi.

The fraudsters have been successful on three occasions so far, with the total losses believed to be around £10,000.

Enquiries in relation to the incidents are ongoing and officers are reminding people that public officials would never ask anyone for money or to hand over valuable items.

Detective Constable Gareth Yates, of the Economic Crime Unit at Cheshire Police, said: "It is important to note that the fraudsters can be extremely convincing. They are persistent and often target elderly or vulnerable people.

"Many people may think they would never be a victim to this kind of crime; however, this really can happen to anyone.

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"We react very differently when under stress and these criminals are very sophisticated and use a whole host of tactics to persuade people to follow their instructions.

"If you are contacted by anyone claiming to be a public official, anyone asks you to hand over money, bank details or purchase anything to pass across to them, please contact us immediately.

"The quicker we are told, the more likely officers can identify those responsible."

If you believe that you have been a victim of courier fraud, please contact Cheshire Police on 101, using a different phone to the one used to communicate with the fraudsters.

You can report information to police via the website. You can report to Report Fraud via UK's Home for Reporting Cyber Crime & Fraud - Report Fraud or call 0300 123 2040.

Call 999 immediately in an emergency or if you suspect a fraud is currently in progress.