Beware scam phone calls

Jennifer McMullan is urging people not to give out their details, a warning that has been backed up by Trading Standards officers who say that NOBODY should give out personal or financial information unless they are totally sure that the caller is legitimate.

Jennifer was at her parents' home in Kildrum when she answered the phone last Wednesday to a call that soon aroused her suspicions.

The 33-year-old said: "At first it was an automated message but then a person came on the line and asked me if I had any credit cards or loans I wanted to cancel."

She asked the caller where he was calling from - but he dodged the question.

"I then asked again which company he was calling from and he said 'financial advisory', so I asked him which company that was and he hung up."

She is concerned that elderly and vulnerable people could be taken in.

She is also worried that this kind of call could also be confused with the current payment protection reclaiming cases - and that it could also target people in debt.

"It was a withheld number so unfortunately it couldn't be traced. I don't know if the call came from the local area or if it is a nationwide scam, but my advice to anyone who gets this kind of call is to hang up."

David Roderick, Trading Standards manager with North Lanarkshire Council, said: "Any caller asking people to give out their personal or financial information is almost certainly running a scam."