PEOPLE in Malvern are being warned about aggressive phone scammers claiming to be from the tax office demanding sums of money.
CPR Call Blocker is urging residents to hang up if someone claiming to be from HMRC calls or leaves a message claiming they should call back or face legal action.
It follows reports of a similar scam in Australia where scammers claiming to be from the Australian Tax Office were calling people and demanding sums of money be paid or risk facing a warrant for their arrest.
The scam, which has been reported to CPR Call Blocker, involves an automated message telling the recipient they owe tax and face legal action.
They are then promoted to press a number to speak to someone to make a payment on their unpaid tax or face a lawsuit.
Some calls have also told people to get in touch with a solicitor as they could be facing serious legal problems if they don’t pay immediately.
Bryony Hipkin, from CPR Call Blocker, is urging residents to simply put the phone down to unsolicited callers.
“What we often see with phone scams is that they can quickly spread across the globe as scammers see what is working well in other places,” he said.
“After the large sums of money that have been lost in Australia to the recent ATO scam, it isn’t surprising to hear from our customers that a similar scam is now doing the rounds over here.
“The manner of these calls are both intimidating and threatening.
“These are classic tactics often used by scammers to try to bully members of the public and this can often make people panic and pay without thinking the process through first.
“We would always strongly recommend never paying something over the phone that you are unsure of.”
Anyone who receives a call from someone claiming to be from HMRC should verify the caller’s ID.
If that is not possible, hang up and get in touch with HMRC via www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs.
