Toronto police are urging the public to be vigilant for phone scams after an 85-year-old woman lost $600,000, including her home.

Police were notified of the incident by the victim’s friends.

“The victim was an elderly widow who was living by herself,” said Det. Alan Spratt.

She was called every day at the same time by somebody who said he was a lawyer and told her she had won a large sum of money, said Spratt.

The victim, who police say had a diminished mental capacity, was told by the unknown person that she had to pay taxes and other “recovery costs” to receive her winnings.

“The suspect called her every day to build a rapport with the victim, a trend we are noticing in phone scams,” said Spratt.

The woman eventually sold her home to pay the taxes and transferred approximately $600,000 to bank accounts across Ontario and around the world, police said.

After friends of the woman notified police, investigators located where the woman had sent her savings and recovered about $20,000 worth of cell phones which the victim was told to purchase by the fraudster.

Police also recovered $380,000 in funds.

They are reminding the public to be aware of fraudulent calls and to contact investigators at 1-888-495-8501 if they suspect a scam.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Spratt at 416-808-7300.