An elderly woman has been the victim of a scam involving a “considerable sum of money”, with police warning others to be on the lookout for the con artists.

The Chepping Wye Valley Neighbourhood Policing team say they are concerned by a new scam which involves an unexpected call or visit from someone claiming to be from National Grid.

Police have not said where the elderly victim lives, on that they were targeted in the “Chepping Wye Valley” area, which covers Flackwell Heath, Loudwater, Hazlemere, Litle Marlow and Wooburn.

In this case, the callers persuaded the resident she needed to pay them a considerable sum of money.

A person claiming to be a police officer was also involved.

Police advise that should you receive an unexpected visit or phone call from someone claiming to be from the National Grid, requesting some unplanned and unexpected activity involving you and your home, insist on seeing some form of identification.

Advice is to check this with the National Grid Customer Services Department on 0800 096 5678 before letting them come into your home or proceeding further. If they are genuine, they should not be offended under the circumstances.

Neighbourhood policing spokesman Howard Wynne said: “Other utility companies will also have customer services departments who can confirm details, but get this number from the phonebook of another reliable source, don’t just accept that the number given to you by the visitor or caller is genuine.

“Please be aware that you will need to ensure that the phone line is closed before making a call, as the suspect could stay on the phone - you think that you are speaking to person on a different number, but you are in fact speaking to the same person, now pretending to be a customer service advisor or police officer.”

Similarly, should you receive a phone call from ‘the police’ relating to this unusual activity – or some other activity – officers urge residents to treat this with utmost caution as there are very few, if any, circumstances when the police would be involved with utility company payments.

Obtain ‘the officer’s’ name, station where based, shoulder number, and then end the call. Contact the police via 101, ensuring that the line is clear or calling from a different phone, and staff in the enquiry centre or control room will check if it is genuine.

Mr Wynne said: “No genuine police officer will ever be offended by you checking them in this way, police officers often do it when speaking to colleagues from different forces.

“Please keep a close eye on friends, relatives and neighbours to prevent further people becoming victims of this cruel crime.”