‘Tax office’ phone scam

OLD FOLK TARGETED BY FRAUDSTERS SCARING THEM INTO HANDING OVER ITUNES VOUCHERS WORTH HUNDREDS

SCAMMERS are targeting elderly people with bogus phone calls pretending to be from the tax office in an attempt to frighten them into handing over hundreds of pounds in iTunes vouchers.

Middleton said they received three reports of elderly people being contacted by callers posing as Inland Revenue or HMRC officers, in Middleton and Prestwich, on Wednesday morning.

The caller has known personal details about the victims and claimed they owe them money.

In one case they told a 79-year-old victim that they owed £887, which was to be paid in iTunes vouchers.

The resident bought £650 of vouchers but contacted police before handing them over. Police are currently helping the victim get their money back and are investigating the calls. Judie Krebs, from Prestwich, confronted one caller after they targeted her 79-year-old friend. The caller left a message saying they were opening an investigation on her. She called the mobile number back and grilled a man, who hung up when she questioned his authenticity. Judie said: “My friend is still rather shocked. Other people might not have anyone to discuss it with and could end up being duped. “No government department would telephone anyone in such a circumstance and certainly not from a mobile phone.” HMRC has been warning of the scam, which has seen some victims duped out of hundreds of pounds, since before Christmas. It says it would never request the settling of debt via iTunes.