A POLICE impostor scammed an 80-year-old woman out of almost £5,000 after claiming to be phoning from the Metropolitan Police.

The woman in Thame was called on May 11 and told £4,800 had been fraudulently withdrawn from her account.

The caller continued to say it had been intercepted by the police but should be withdrawn from a bank on Thame High Street for the police to check it was not counterfeit.

The elderly woman was told to call back 999 to prove it was not a scam but Thames Valley Police warned this is a tactic used by thieves who remain on the line then pretend to answer a new call.

The woman took the cash out and police said it was then 'collected' from her house as part of the scam, using a code word. The force said it was now unlikely the money would ever be recovered.

The incident is not the only fraudulent call to be reported recently in Thame where a further £12,000 was almost stolen by fraudsters.

A resident received a call on April 20 telling them they owed a large amount of unpaid tax and were warned they would be arrested if it was not paid immediately.

The victim was told not to contact any third parties, including the police, and went on to transfer the £12,000 in three transactions to the fraudsters' account.

In this case, the bank staff became suspicious and contacted the police who stopped two of the transactions and as a result retrieved most the money.

Thames Valley Police is warning people in the area of such calls and said the force, or a bank, will never ask you to meet at a location to hand over money.

It also said neither will ever call to ask you to verify your personal details or pin, or offer to pick up your card by courier.

Anyone concerned about a phone call is told to unplug the phone at the wall, plug it back in then call 101.