Fraudsters impersonating police officers conned a man out of a large amount of cash in Wycombe last week.

The thieves rang a man from Friars Garden, Hughenden Valley, claiming to be from the Metropolitan Police fraud team and asked for his help in investigating a case of fraud involving his bank at around 1pm on Wednesday, July 13.

The victim withdrew a large amount of cash from his bank, police say, and handed it over to a man pretending to be a courier at 8pm the same evening.

The man that collected the money is described as Asian, in his twenties, about 5ft7in, clean shaven and wearing a smart black suit and shoes.

Investigating officer PC Bushra Sheikh, Local CID Officer based at High Wycombe police station, said: "This was a very distressing incident for the victim and I would appeal for anyone that may have seen a man matching the above description to get in touch with the police.

"If you have any information then please contact me via the Thames Valley police enquiry centre on 101 quoting occurrence number 43160194424.

"These offenders target vulnerable people in our communities and I would urge members of the public to take 10 minutes out of their day to speak to any elderly friends, relatives or neighbours to make them aware of this crime.

"It is important to remember that a senior police officer or a bank would never send a courier to anybody's home address to collect money.

"If anybody does receive any suspicious calls then please contact us immediately on 101 or report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040."

Thames Valley Police has made prompt cards for vulnerable people which explain how to recognise courier fraud.

It has also released a series of tips explaining how to prevent the same crimes happening again:

* Never deal with cold callers on the phone or in person, no matter how polite or friendly they are. Saying 'No thank you' and shutting the door or hanging up the phone is not rude.

* Your bank, the police or anyone legitimate will never send a courier to your home to collect your money, your bank cards, and they will never ask for your pin number. Close the door, lock it, and call 101 to speak to the police.

* Keep a mobile phone next to the landline, and if you want to make a phone call immediately after hanging up the landline, always use the other phone.

* If you do hand over your bank details or cards, don't panic. Call your bank immediately using another phone, such as a mobile phone, explain what's happened and cancel your cards.

* Legitimate callers will never try to rush you, scare you, or force you into anything. If you feel scared or pressured at any point, hang up or shut the door and tell someone what's happened.

* Print out the prompt cards available on our website -cut along the dotted line, and pin the left hand side to your door and put the right hand side next to the phone.

There are many variations of the courier scam, but it usually follows a similar method:

* A fraudster will cold call the victim on a landline. In previous incidents the fraudster's have claimed to be from the victim's bank, the police or a fraud investigator

* The fraudster states their systems have spotted a fraudulent payment in the victim's account, or that they need the victim's help in investigating fraudulent activity at their bank.

* In order to reassure the victim that they are genuine, they suggest that the victim hangs up and rings the bank/police back straight away. However, they don't disconnect the call from the landline so that when the real phone number is dialled, they are actually still speaking to the fraudster.

* Finally, the fraudsters will send a courier to collect cash from the victim's home address, or to take the victim to their bank to withdraw the money. The fraudster will have then obtained the victim's name, address, full bank details, card and PIN.