THERE have been several reports of members of the public receiving scam calls from local numbers in the Wellington area - where scammers are trying to trick you into believing they MUST be real as they are near by.

The Wellington Policing Team reports: “One such example has been received from a member of the public who received a call from someone claiming to be from Ebay security. This appeared to be from a local number with the caller stating they would be able to visit them to fix the problem (After Lockdown), which was quite clearly a scam. Several others have been reported since from various companies and again the ploy is to instil a sense of trust in the recipient.

“Please remain alert with any calls you receive advising for example that you have a slow broadband connection, your loft insulation does not meet current regulations, you have post from Royal Mail that has not been fully paid, your Amazon Prime has expired or has been hacked, for each of these calls will almost certainly be scams.

“If you’re in any doubt, never press 1 on your keypad when asked, just hang up. Once you’ve ended the call, let the phone line clear for at least five minutes and then call the company back on a number that you know, and preferably on a different phone.

“You can find lots more information about all types of scams and fraud by clicking on the link below that will take you to the Action Fraud website – https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud