Police try to stamp out taxman scam

Elderly folk being targeted

Residents are being warned to ignore a new telephone scam targeting elderly people.

A number of cold calls, claiming to be from HM Revenue & Customs in the UK, have been reported to local police stations and the Office of Fair Trading.

Typically, an automated message will advise receipients they are being subject to legal action by the taxman.

They are then asked to call back on a premium rate phone number - doing so will rack up huge phone bills.

If you receive one of the calls, the advice is to ignore it.