Police hunting a man conning elderly women out of hundreds of pounds by pretending to be a lottery-winning relative have warned the borough's pensioners: "It could be you."

They say they are baffled at how the trickster manages to get hold of the addresses and telephone numbers of his victims.

And they fear he may strike again unless caught. He has so far raked in nearly £1,000 with the elaborate scam.

Officers on night duty were so appalled by the first crime, when a woman in her 80s was conned out of £170 on February 4, they had a whip-round for the victim at Croydon Police Station and raised £100.

That was followed by an identical crime five days later, when a second woman was persuaded to hand over £400.

A third woman, from Caterham, is the latest victim, police said yesterday (Tuesday).

The man telephoned the three women claiming to be a member of the family who had just won millions of pounds on the National Lottery.

He asked them for cash so that he could buy a present for his wife before claiming the winning cheque. He then sent round minicabs to their homes to collect the cash.

The unwitting minicab drivers delivered the money to a mystery address in the north of the borough.

A police spokesman said: "We are hoping that by warning people about this cruel hoax we can stop it happening again.

"Officers were flabbergasted by the first offence.

"Obviously the mystery is how he is managing to get the victims' details and the fact that he has tried it three times and succeeded suggests he may well try it again."

l Anyone with information should telephone Jo Goodall at Croydon CID on 0181 649 0235.

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