SYDNEY: Police have arrested two Nepalis on charges of cheating an 85-year-old woman in Australia.

They were charged with five counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception and three counts of knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime, Nine News reported.

According to the report, an 85-year-old woman allegedly received a call from someone purporting to be from her bank who said she needed to open a new account after hers had been compromised.

The woman was allegedly instructed to give $3000 to a courier, who came to her home, with the cash to be deposited into her new account.

After she did this and reported the matter to the police, the woman received further calls from members of the syndicate, advising her she needed to provide a further $5000.

Police arrested the pair on Monday when they arrived at her home to take the cash.