CRUEL fraudsters are targeting elderly people in a scam involving pre-paid funeral plans.

A 91-year-old man in Poole lost £4,000 after criminals claimed to be offering him a refund on a plan taken out with Tapper Funeral Service.

Now boss Stephen Tapper has issued a warning after another couple were contacted days later in the same manner.

The first victim was called by a man who convinced him he was due to receive a refund, then asked for his credit card details.

The victim later discovered that £4,000 had been spent on his credit card.

In the second instance, a couple in their 60s, also from Poole, were contacted and asked to do the same thing.

They became suspicious and contacted Tapper funeral Service to check whether or not it was a genuine call. They did not hand over any details.

"This is something I am very worried about because pre-payment plans are a big thing these days" said Mr Tapper.

"The person performing the scam appears to have done a lot of research and uses terminology which would be recognised by someone who had taken out such a plan.

"It lulls them into a false sense of security but I want to stress that a funeral director would not make such a call. I can't see any circumstances in which there would be a refund on a funeral plan. If there were such a thing we would not ask for credit card details."