A 12-year-old girl scammed money out of members of the public by pretending she was collecting money for a cancer charity.
The schoolgirl was caught after a suspicious woman gave her £5 but then phoned the school she claimed to go to in Brighbouse, West Yorkshire.
Bradford Grammar School confirmed that the girl wasn't a pupil, and the school was not raising money for cancer research.
The woman, Elaine Walton, then called police, who have confirmed that the girl was dealt with by a 'community resolution' following the incident on March 18.
She will be forced to pay back the money.
Elaine told her local paper: "I was approached by a young girl. She had a school uniform on and said she was asking for sponsors for Cancer Trust. She had lots of names on the form.
"It would have been my husband's 54th birthday and he was on my mind as he died from cancer in August last year, and because my heart is close to this charity I signed the form and gave the girl £5, which she put in a plastic bag to take back to school.
"When I got back to my office I rang Bradford Grammar School - the girl said she was from there. They had never heard of this girl and she certainly was not at their school and the school was not collecting for Cancer Trust. I don't think was the only person tricked by this young girl."
Inspector David Shaw, of the Lower Valley Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "We received one call shortly after 8.30am on Tuesday, March 18, reporting concerns about a girl collecting money in Brighouse town centre.
"The girl said she was collecting money for a cancer charity and gave details of her name and school she attended. The caller handed money over and signed a form but on making further inquiries found there was no girl of the name given registered at that school. A search was made of the area but the girl was not located.
"Following further inquiries by officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team, the girl involved was identified and has been issued with a community resolution.
"The 12-year-old will also be paying back the money taken."