A warning has been issued after a person was conned out of more than £1000.

The resident fell victim when they received a voicemail from someone claiming to be from the HM Revenue & Customs.

The message stated that the victim had an outstanding debt and that an arrest warrant had been issued.

On calling the number left on the voicemail, the person was advised that they could avoid court and settle the debt, by paying it off in Playstation vouchers by 3pm that day.

The scammers then convinced them to stay on the phone while they purchased vouchers from different stores. In this case, the resident lost £1200.

Merton Council’s member for community and culture, Councillor Nick Draper, said: “We advise residents not to trust anyone who phones out of the blue and asks for a bill payment of any sort to be settled by purchasing vouchers.

"Government agencies have strict guidelines and will not call you unexpectedly and ask for personal details, payments over the phone or voucher payments.

"If you are left a voicemail, ring the number advertised on the agency’s website to find out if the call was genuine.”