Police are urging people not to fall for a scam where a fraudster pretends to be from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) before trying to trick vulnerable victims into paying bogus debts and taxes using iTunes gift cards.
The warning comes after an elderly man from Kirk Ella received a phone call telling him he owed a sum of money to HMRC and faced arrest unless he bought £500 worth of iTunes vouchers and told the scammer the codes over the phone.
Fearing arrest the man went to a nearby shop to buy the gift cards where fortunately, a member of staff questioned him about why he needed so much. The man then explained what had happened.
Believing it to be a scam, the member of staff advised the man that this was not likely to be a genuine call and offered to take him to the local police station to report the matter.
Local community police officer PC Katie Peach took the report from the elderly man and escorted him home safely and took steps to ensure his welfare. This included taking a phone call at the man’s home from a man believed to be the would-be scammer – enquiries are currently ongoing in connection with that.
PC Peach said;
“This is a really good example of how the community can work together with the police to help protect those who may be vulnerable. We must praise the supermarket staff member for recognising that this man may have been the target of an attempted scam, and for bringing him to speak to police to receive the advice and reassurance needed. We in turn have taken steps to help prevent anything similar happening again to this gentleman and, thankfully the combined actions of all involved have ensured that on this occasion the fraudsters were not successful. We are aware of another similar call being made to police which again did not result in money being taken, but the public should be aware if they receive a call like this that it is not legitimate.
PC Peach added;
If you have elderly relatives, or perhaps a neighbour who may be vulnerable to falling victim to fraudsters, please let them know that organisations like the HMRC would never approach their customers in this manner and to make sure they report anything suspicious to police
“Unfortunately, this is a national scam, primarily used to target the elderly who are vulnerable and more susceptible to frauds of this nature. I would ask everyone to spend a moment speaking to their elderly relatives and make them aware of this so we can help protect those who may be at risk in our area.”
To report a fraud of this nature call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our on-line fraud reporting tool. For further details about this scam visit HMRC and iTunes gift card scam (www.actionfraud.police.uk/news/alert-hmrc-and-itunes-gift-card-scam-may16)