Dyfed-Powys Police has issued a warning to residents following numerous reports of a phone scam in the Ceredigion area yesterday (Tuesday, August 23).

Officers have received reports of someone purporting to be from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) asking for money.

Sergeant Jane Mortley said: “It would appear that Ceredigion has been hit with a phone scam and I am very keen to get the message out there that this is a scam.

“The HMRC would never target people in this way and would certainly never ask for money or bank details over the phone.

“Please be vigilant, do not part with any money or personal information. Remember – It is OK not to speak with cold callers – just put the phone down. If you are concerned please contact police on 101.”

The HMRC phone scam is one of many currently happening throughout the UK and beyond.

Top tips on how to avoid scams:

• If you weren’t expecting the call, do not enter into conversation with them, provide them with any personal details or send them any money
• Never log onto your computer as a result of a cold call claiming your computer has a virus or viruses – again do not engage in dialogue on such a call
• Install up-to-date antivirus security software
• Keep your computer up-to-date with the latest software patches and updates
• Delete suspicious emails and social media messages without clicking on links
• Be security-conscious on social media sites: log out when you’re done and don’t connect to people you don’t know
• Regularly change and use strong passwords and don’t share them with anyone. Make sure that you don’t use the same password for all of your accounts. This will mean that even if one password is compromised, it will only affect one of your accounts
• Be careful about what you share online, don’t give away more personal information than you need to on social media sites and back up important files and media content to safe and secure storage solutions i.e. external hard drive/ trusted cloud storage.