PEOPLE in Hampshire are being warned about aggressive phone scammers claiming to be from the tax office demanding sums of money.

CPR Call Blocker, makers of a call blocking device, is urging people in the county to hang up if someone claiming to be from the tax office calls or leaves a message claiming 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 (ATO) were calling people and demanding 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 promoted to press a number to speak to someone to make a payment on their unpaid tax or face a lawsuit. Some calls have also told people to get in touch with a solicitor as they could be facing serious legal problems if they don’t pay immediately.

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 to the recent ATO scam, 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 Hampshire to be on their guard."