VALE residents are being warned to put the phone down on scammers claiming to be from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

Members of the Vale council’s shared regulatory services’ safeguarding team have received complaints, coinciding with the annual deadline for submitting self-assessment tax returns.

A complainant reported a phone call from someone proclaiming to be from HMRC, threatening legal action.

The consumer became suspicious and called HMRC directly who confirmed it was a scam.

The scam involves a phone call with a message saying you owe HMRC money and to press ‘1’ to speak to a case worker.

When you speak to a person, they ask for your national insurance number and postcode and threaten court action if you do not pay. They are likely to ask for a card payment and may even threaten you with arrest.

Two other complaints from Cardiff were investigated, where it seems residents were told to settle their tax bill by buying iTunes vouchers and giving the redemption codes to the scammers.

The two complainants paid £6,750 between them for iTunes vouchers.

Cllr Dhanisha Patel, chairman of the joint committee for shared regulatory services, said: “Receiving a call of this nature can be very intimidating, especially when you’re being told you’ve done something wrong. We urge residents to never part with money during an unsolicited phone call.”

The team advises not to give out any personal details over the telephone and put it down.

All initial phone scam complaints should be made to Citizens Advice Consumer Service by calling 03454 040506.