Police have issued CCTV images of a man they want to identify after a gang posing as fraud squad officers conned a woman out of her life savings.

Detectives are looking to trace the man after the 51-year-old victim, from Waltham Forest, received a phone call from the gang to her landline at around 3pm on February 9 this year.

The man on the phone identified himself as a Met Police officer, named James Portman, before telling the woman she had been a victim of fraud and her identity had been stolen.

“DC Portman” then said he would hang up the phone and asked the victim to call 999 to verify his details. But, the conman did not hang up and the woman did not speak to a genuine 999 operator.

She was then told to visit a bank on Leytonstone High Road to withdraw cash and a bureau du change in Walthamstow to withdraw Euros and American dollars.

The woman then received another phone call from DC Portman at around 6pm, explaining a courier would come to her home and collect the money she had withdrawn.

The conman also told the victim he would require her bank cards for evidence.

She handed over the money and her bank cards to the courier, who said he was delivering the items to Hammersmith police station.

The following day, the victim was then told by the phony officer to go to a jewellery shop on New Bond Street to buy a high-end watch. She then handed the watch over to the same courier.

On February 13, DC Portman told the victim she must withdraw all her money or she could lose her life savings.

She was first instructed to go to a bank in Wanstead and transfer her savings into her flex account, before buying another high-end watch on Old Bond Street.

The victim became suspicious the day after the final incident and called police, who informed her there was no DC James Portman working for the Met.

The woman had handed over thousands of pounds worth of her life savings before altering police.

DC James Egley, from the Met’s Operation Falcon, said: "These conmen went to extreme lengths to gain the victim’s trust to deliberately deceive her out of her hard-earned life-savings.

"People should be aware that the police would never send a courier service to collect items and would never ask for your PIN, bank cards, to withdraw money or to buy expensive items.

"Any suspicions should be reported to the police.

"We would urge people to be vigilant at all times so they can avoid falling victim to a similar scam."

Anyone who recognises the man or has any other information is asked to call Operation Falcon on: 020 7230 8203 or Crimestoppers anonymously on: 0800 555 111.