Derby City Council Trading Standards are again warning of a recurring phone scam in which victims are threatened with a lawsuit or arrest if they do not hand over £1000’s on the spot. The bogus calls claim to be from HMRC and if you receive one of these calls then you should end the call immediately.
This scam has been widely reported and often targets elderly and vulnerable people using a variety of phone numbers.
An 83 year old resident called in as she had received such a call. She was told that if she didn’t press one to be connected to HMRC she’d get arrested.
Other scam calls may offer a tax refund and request you to provide your bank or credit card information. If you cannot verify the identity of the caller, we recommend that you do not speak to them.
If you’ve been a victim of the scam and suffered financial loss, report it to Action Fraud.
If you do receive a suspicious phone call, to help our investigations, please report full details by email to: phishing@hmrc.gov.uk, including the:
- date of the call
- phone number used
- content of the call
Councillor Jonathan Smale, Cabinet Member for Communities, Neighbourhoods and Streetpride said:
This is not a new scam but appears to have come round again. As ever I’d ask residents to be vigilant and cautious of anyone asking for payments over the phone. Please do report it if you do get a suspicious call. It really is helpful to track these fraudsters.