A WARNING has been issued after a phone scammer tried to scare a woman into paying over £1,000 by threatening to send the police to her house.

The concerned woman refused to pay over the phone and checked with Eden District Council about the unpaid council tax.

Praising the woman, a spokesman for the council said: “This was a vulnerable woman who told us how she was called by someone who threatened to send the police to her house, saying they would be there in 35 minutes.

“She was obviously pretty concerned about the call, but thankfully did the right thing by checking with us and not giving them any money.

“Unfortunately we get quite a few calls of this nature, as scammers will often use the names of banks and public authorities to try and gain trust with the resident.”

Police are reminding everyone to treat all unexpected calls as suspicious as they may be telephone scams.

Also, contact Cumbria Police on its non-emergency number 101 or the Action Fraud line on 0300 123 2040 if they have had any doubts about the validity of the telephone call.