Bridgnorth widow left terrified by 'HMRC' scammers

Scammers pretending to be working for Her Majesties Revenue and Customs have been targeting people in Shropshire and attempting to wheedle money from them that they don't owe.

Stephanie Fellows was left terrified after they told her she was to be taken to court for non-payment of £800 over a 20-year period.

Mrs Fellows said the scammers asked her to download forms to repay the money or go to Bridgnorth's Tesco alone to hand over the cash.

Police have reminded people to be aware of potential scams and be careful not to give out personal details to people they are not sure of.

Mrs Fellows, 66, said: "I had a call on my phone and I rang it back and they said they were from the tax office and they were going to take me to court.

"They said I was going to be arrested for tax evasion.

"They read my my rights over the phone and said I owed over £800 from between 1985 and 2015.

"I thought I might be something that my employers had missed during that time."

Mrs Fellows, who has recently been widowed, said she asked the men if they would like to settle out of court and said she had not received any letters about the non-payment,

She was told to go to her computer and download forms to be able to pay the money.

She added: "Then he asked if I could get to Tesco to pay the money.

"I told him I would need my neighbour to take me and after that he got cagey which makes me worried that he was trying to get me to go on my own.

"Later I gave him my card details and he asked me for a security code, I thought my card doesn't have a security code and it was only then I realised he was after my PIN number."

At that stage Mrs Fellows ended the call, cancelled her cards and contacted the police.

West Mercia Police say scammers pretending to be from HMRC are increasing.

The call to Mrs Fellows on July 1 follows an incident where a Telford resident received two text messages from someone claiming to be from the HMRC regarding a tax refund. The messages included a link to a website in order to obtain a refund.

The man did not click the links and reported them to officers.

Emily Dixon, a spokeswoman for HMRC, said: "Police are reminding residents that HMRC would not request payment upfront, or details in order to process a refund.

"You can find out more about how to recognise genuine communications from HMRC at their website."