Police have advised of a fresh round of phone scams targeting residents, with callers impersonating officers asking for personal information as well as financial details.

A spokesman said: “This is a well-known phishing tactic and is similar to the methods used back in October, when an alert was issued about the same kinds of fraudulent calls.”

He warned that a red flag would come from “any caller who claims to be a police officer or other Bermuda Police Service representative and requests personal information, including bank account particulars, over the phone”.

Unexpected calls from an overseas or unknown number were also said to be a giveaway.

One series of WhatsApp calls featured a profile with the BPS crest but showed the foreign number +92-313-622-7439.

The spokesman reminded the community that genuine officers would never contact the public by phone asking for personal information.

Police practice is make an appointment to attend a police station at a specific time and date.

Residents were encourage to challenge suspicious callers for their name and badge number.

Any BPS officer should readily identify themselves by name, rank, badge number and department, and give contact information.

Should a caller refuse to give details, the public should hang up and call 211 to make a police report.

The spokesman added: “For those callers that provide a name, rank, badge number and department, but continue to ask for personal details, inform them that you would prefer to attend a police station and speak with an officer there.

“Then hang up and contact the BPS directly, by calling 211 to report the matter.”