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Police warn of HMRC phone scam

Telephone scammers are targeting Cumbrians. Credit: PA

Police are warning people in Cumbria about a scam involving fraudsters posing as members of HMRC.

The callers state that there is a tax payment outstanding, and say that if money is not transferred they will contact the police, who will look to arrest the victim.

It is believed that the suspects are targeting elderly and vulnerable people.

Our advice for such scams is to politely decline to hand over any money and to take the details of the caller and ring HMRC on 0870 280 2566 to check if it is an actual case or fraudulent.

The HMRC website states they would never use these methods to tell you about a tax rebate, a penalty or even to get personal payment information.

We would like to advise the public to be wary of such scams.

– Inspector Jon Sherlock of the Community Safety Unit