A WARNING has been issued after a woman was duped out of a £160 by a conman claiming to be from Scottish Borders Council.

The bogus caller convinced the Peebles resident she was entitled to a council tax rebate.

And she provided her bank card details over the phone.

PC Nick Walker, who is part of the Safer Communities Team at Scottish Borders Council, said: "People should be very wary of unsolicited phone calls and never give out personal details including bank or credit card details.

"If you are unsure about who the callers says they are terminate the call and contact the organisation using the number you would normally contact them on - not on any number given by the caller."

As well as council tax calls, scammers are currently also pretending to be from HMRC in a bid to obtain bank details.

Scottish Borders Council confirmed that officers do contact residents by phone - but only after letters have been sent.

A spokesman told us: "Council officers or their agents may contact residents by telephone to discuss unpaid council tax and may accept payment over the telephone.

"However, this will have been preceded by written confirmation of the unpaid council tax.

“They will also have full details of the account and will never insist on payment being made by telephone.

"Residents should be extremely wary of unsolicited phone calls and if in any doubt should not give out personal details and contact the Council via the Customer Services Team telephone number 0300 100 1800.”