Elderly women allegedly scammed out of $20k by man posing as bank employee

A Sydney man who allegedly impersonated a bank employee to scam two elderly women out of nearly $20,000 will face court today.

Police will allege the 46-year-old posed as a worker at a financial institution and called two women, telling them their accounts had been hacked.

He then allegedly went to their homes in Sydney and took cash from them.

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The first woman, an 80-year-old from Revesby, reported being defrauded in October last year.

Last month, a 74-year-old Strathfield woman also reported being defrauded.

NSW Police searched a home in Greenacre about 7am yesterday and arrested the man.

He was taken to Auburn Police Station and charged with two counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception and two counts of recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime (greater than $5000).

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Auburn Police Area Command's Detective Inspector Andrew Evans said the alleged fraud was an opportunistic attack on vulnerable community members.

"Online and phone scams are becoming more frequent, and police will not tolerate scammers targeting any members of the community," Detective Inspector Evans said.

"This was a cowardly act, and we are warning the community never to give out your personal details over the phone unless you can verify you are speaking to a trusted source."

The man was refused bail to appear in Burwood Local Court today.

Police strongly encourage the community to report any potential scams to their local police station, or to the ACCC via SCAMWATCH report a scam page or by calling 1300 795 995.

Anyone with information about suspected fraudulent activity is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online.