A SCAMMER is calling homes and trying to trick people into giving out their national insurance number, Gloucestershire Constabulary have warned.

A Gloucester resident received a call on Tuesday from an automated number which claimed to be HM Revenue and Customs, telling him his details were being used fraudulently.

The man was advised to press 1 to speak to an advisor and to provide his National Insurance number to prevent his assets from being frozen.

Becoming suspicious, the man hung up.

"Telephone numbers can easily be spoofed so anyone who gets an alleged call from HMRC is advised not to give any information but to tell the caller to write to them as they will have all their personal details," Gloucestershire Constabulary wrote on their Facebook page.

The news comes just days after fraudsters targetted homes in Stroud, the Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury pretending to be police in a conterfeit cash scam.

Police have advised anyone who believes they are being targeted by a scammer to hang up the phone and use a different phone line to call Action Fraud or the police.

If you don’t have access to a different phone line, wait for a period of time and try calling a family member or friend first to make sure the scammer is no longer on the line.

Anyone who believes that they have been the victim of a fraudulent phone call can report this by calling police on 101 or Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

More advice to help stop you from becoming a victim of fraud can be found on the Gloucestershire Constabulary Facebook page here.