A woman was tricked into withdrawing £4,000 before handing it to a fake police officer in Sittingbourne in an elaborate fraud.

The con-artists called her to say they were investigating two employees at the bank she used and needed her help.

She was told to dial 999 from her landline to ensure the call was genuine and spoke to someone she believed to be an officer.

They asked her to go to her bank, where she was told there would be undercover officers, and withdraw £4,000.

When she had done so, she was met by someone in a taxi who took the money.

It is one of a number of reports received by police of people being called by fraudsters.

Another Sittingbourne resident said they had been called by a woman saying she was from a finance company and asking for their bank details.

When they checked with the company named, it did not have any record of such a call.

And a Faversham resident was called and asked to buy iTunes vouchers as part of something police were involved in.

She also reported her computer being hacked.

Sgt Paul Stoner said: "Criminals who engage in this type of fraud tend to prey on the most vulnerable members of society so I would encourage friends and family members to ensure they pass on this information to help protect residents who may not be aware of this type of scam.

"Please be assured that police officers will never request bank details or ask resident to withdraw money for any reason.

"We would also never ask residents to transfer money, purchase good or send someone to collect cash, pin numbers, bank cards or cheques."