ELDERLY residents in Poole and Purbeck could be falling victim to a telephone scam launched to bankroll Islamic State militants, it has emerged.

Dorset Police serious crime squad detectives have not ruled out links between the telephone conmen and ISIS, after Scotland Yard confirmed Metropolitan Police officers are investigating a ‘large scale fraud linked to UK extremists travelling to Syria’.

Officers from the capital made a series of arrests, last week, as part of ongoing investigations into fraud and money laundering.

The Daily Echo has already reported how fraudsters posing as police officers and bank workers have been targeting increasing numbers of elderly Poole and Purbeck residents in recent weeks.

While Detective Chief Inspector Jez Noyce, of Dorset Police’s Serious Crime Investigations Department, stopped short of confirming the county force is probing links to jihadi cold callers, he did confirm “We are considering all investigative lines of inquiry and all options as to where this money is going.”

Metropolitan Police officers have arrested four men as part of their ongoing investigation. They believe money defrauded from the elderly could be boosting ISIS’s war chest.

A Scotland Yard spokesman explained: “Officers are investigating a large scale fraud linked to UK extremists travelling to Syria. The arrests form part of an ongoing fraud investigation, whereby unsuspecting vulnerable and elderly victims are ‘cold called’ on their home phone by a suspect impersonating a police officer, informing them their bank account has been compromised and deceiving victims into transferring money to an account under the control of the suspect.”

Dorset Police officers manned a ‘pop-up’ police station in Poole during February to raise awareness of a scam that mirrors the one London officers are investigating – although this type of crime is also a relatively common nationwide fraud perpetuated by domestic criminals.

Officers told the Echo that a dedicated operation to counter the scam had been established in Dorset, and that victims were being targeted by telephone conmen who claimed to be from legitimate organisations, such as police forces or banks.

Poole North neighbourhood inspector David Parr described it as a “despicable” crime.

Detective Andy Roberts, Dorset Police lead for courier fraud, warned: “If someone contacts you on the phone and asks for your bank account number and pin number, never give it to them.

“The police will never ask for your bank details over the phone and will never ask you to withdraw or transfer money for them.”

Anyone who suspects their caller is ringing fraudulently should hang up, wait for five minutes and check for a dial tone.

“Once the line is clear dial 1471, write the number down and then call police immediately on 101,” said Det Insp Roberts.

A 24-year-old man was recently arrested in Poole and released on police bail while enquiries continue.