A SALISBURY businesswoman who was conned out of £500 has spoken out in the hope that others are not fooled.

The woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, received an urgent call at work from what she thought was her bank.

After informing her that unusually large amounts had been withdrawn from her account, the conman asked her to go to her handbag and check to see if she had her purse.

Discovering that it was missing, the woman returned to the phone and was told that thieves had probably removed the metallic strip from her bank card and attached it to another - asking her to confirm her PIN code.

She told the caller her PIN, but realised the scam after the man went on to discuss one of her other credit cards.

Despite contacting her bank immediately, £500 had been withdrawn from the account in the time it took her to make the call.

She said: "I am unlikely to get this money back, as I gave my PIN number to the caller, albeit unwittingly, so both my bank and my house insurers are indicating that a claim is unlikely to be authorised.

"Like most people, I can ill-afford the £500, for which I have worked extremely hard and I say 'always be on your guard and never believe this couldn't happen to you'.