EVESHAM police have issued a warning after an elderly woman was targeted by telephone scammers claiming to be from HM Revenue and Customs.
The warning comes after a woman, who lives in the Gloucester area, received a call last Monday (October 17) from a woman with a foreign accent who claimed she owed HMRC £1286 in unpaid taxes from 2005 and 2006.
The fraudster then claimed a warrant had been issued for the elderly woman’s arrest and she was given a number to call and a reference number to quote.
It has now been reported to Action Fraud and is believed to be a hoax.
A similar incident also took place on the same day in the Gloucester area where a woman received a call from a man calling himself ‘Peter’ who again claimed to be from HMRC.
He told the woman that she owed £1286 in unpaid taxes but could pay using £500 of iTunes vouchers and that someone would call and collect the vouchers and advise on how to pay the remaining balance.
The victim was then warned not to tell anyone or she would be arrested and could face paying £47,000 if she went to court. The caller then said someone would ring back in an hour to confirm the woman had the voucher and no such call was made.
Police are now reminding residents that HM Revenue and Customs do not make such calls regarding tax arrears.
Officers are also warning anyone not to give out private information, such as bank details or passwords, reply to text messages, download attachments or click on any links in emails if they do not appear to be genuine.
Anyone who receives a call from the scammers are urged to call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or by visiting their website.
