RESIDENTS in Wiltshire are being warned about phone scammers who claim to be from the tax office and demand money.

CPR Call Blocker is urging people in Wiltshire to hang up if someone claiming to be from HMRC calls or leaves a message saying you must call back or risk facing legal action.

It follows reports of a similar scam in Australia where scammers claiming to be from the Australian Tax Office called people and demanded sums of money be paid or risk facing a warrant for their arrest.

The scam that has been reported to CPR Call Blocker involves an automated message telling the recipient they owe tax and face legal action.

They are then asked to press a number to speak to someone to make a payment on their unpaid tax.

Bryony Hipkin from CPR Call Blocker said: “What we often see with phone scams is that they can quickly spread across the globe as scammers see what is working well in other places.

“After the large sums of money that have been lost in Australia, it isn’t surprising to hear from our customers that a similar scam is now doing the rounds over here so it’s sensible for people in Wiltshire to be on their guard.”

CPR Call Blocker advise people to hang up and get in touch with HMRC themselves.