Woman loses £5,000 to couple in bank con

A smiling con woman is being sought by police after a bank customer from the Black Country tricked into handing over her details, lost more than £5,000.

The victim who lives in Oldbury had her purse stolen from offices.

Later that day she received a call from a man claiming to be from NatWest's card services warning the thief was trying to use her stolen cards and that he needed her PIN number to block the fraudulent transaction. CCTV has now been released of the smiling con woman.

She later withdrew £5,100 in three separate withdrawals.

The 40-year-old victim's purse was stolen from offices in Stratford Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, on the morning of Friday, June 25.

Later that day she received a call from a man claiming to be from NatWest.

Confused, the woman handed over the four digit PIN number and minutes later the con woman emptied her account of £5,100 in three separate withdrawals.

She was caught on camera leaving Shirley's NatWest branch at 12.14pm before heading to a sister branch in Solihull and finally taking more cash from a Halifax cash machine in Solihull.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Deb Dawes, said: "These people were well organised.

"The victim is a professional woman and was conned by a very plausible man purporting to be a bank manager.

"He confused the lady sufficiently into giving over her PIN number which then allowed the woman to obtain cash on the pretence of being the account holder.

"The victim was left very upset and unnerved by the incident, not least by the fact she had been duped into giving out her PIN number.

"I cannot stress enough how important it is not to hand over PIN numbers to anyone. Banks will never ask customers for PIN numbers."

The thief is white, in her mid-to late-20s, slimly built, with long, straight light brown hair.

DC Dawes, added: "There's a strong chance the offenders are local as they seemed to know which banks to target."

Anyone with information should phone the police on 0345 113 5000 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.