PEOPLE are being urged to be alert after two people fell victim to scams.

One of them was an elderly woman who was conned into transferring money abroad after falling vistim to a heartless 'romance scam'.

People have been told to hang up and not engage with fraudsters, after people were targeted with a romance scam and a banking scam.

On the romance scam, a spokesperson for Dorset Police said: “We don’t have full details at this time.

"A third-party report has been received.

"It is believed that an elderly female victim is being taken advantage of by somebody abroad with money being transferred. An investigation is taking place.”

For the banking scam, an elderly female was contacted by someone pretending to be a fraud investigator from Barclays and asking for money to be transferred to help with an investigation.

The spokesperson said: “The victim checked by dialling 1471 and the number displayed was the same as the one displayed on the back on the victim’s Barclays bank card.

"The caller also stated that bank employees at the local branch were involved in the fraud.

“Money was transferred and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.”