AN ELDERLY Helensburgh woman was left "devastated" after being scammed out of thousands of pounds by phone fraudsters, say police.

The incident happened on Wednesday of this week, when the woman was reportedly contacted by phone by someone claiming to be from her bank.

Police say the woman had a call screener in place, but that she accepted the call because it was claimed there had been suspicious activity on her account. 

Police said: "This has resulted in a loss of several thousands of pounds and the victim is described as "devastated".

"During the call, the scammers 'transferred' the victim to different departments including a fraud department which made the call appear more genuine.

"They also gave lots of information on different types of scams."

If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from your bank, terminate the call and phone your bank using the telephone number on the back of your bank card.

Scam attempts should also be reported to police by dialling 101.

Further advice can be found on the Police Scotland website here.