ANOTHER vigilant Wee County woman was targeted by bogus callers, claiming to be phoning from HMRC.

The Tillicoultry lady was well-aware that phone scammers have been trying to take people's hard-earned money recently and knew not to return the calls.

The woman says the conmen have contacted her on several occasions with the aim that they would scare her into sending them money.

A female, claiming to be Heather Grey from HMRC, left the following automated message on her answerphone: “The very second you receive this message I need you or your retained lawyer of record to return the call.

“The issue at hand is extremely time sensitive. I am officer Heather Grey from HMRC and the hotline to my position is 0203 129 1027, I repeat 0203 129 1027.

“Don't disregard this message and do return the call before we take any action against you. Goodbye, take care.”

The Tilly lady said the caller's tone was “very threatening”.

Users of the website who-called.co.uk have also confirmed receiving nuisance calls from the above number, which has been rated “dangerous”. A range of the 48 commenters said the caller had a “robotic voice” with an American accent.

It is understood that HMRC would only make prearranged calls and usually contacts people via mail.

HMRC is one of the most phished brands in the world and a spokesperson told the Advertiser earlier: “HMRC takes taxpayer’s data security extremely seriously.

“We are aware that some people have received telephone calls from people claiming to be from HMRC, requesting payment for alleged tax debts, or received text messages and emails promising a tax refund.

“HMRC will never notify you of a tax rebate, offer you repayment, or ask you to disclose personal or financial details by email or by text, and we recommend that if you cannot verify the identity of a caller that you do not speak to them.

“We continue our work with law enforcement agencies around the world to bring down the criminals behind these scams.

“Last year, HMRC closed more than 14,000 fake websites and continues to protect customers by constantly searching for these types of activity.”