A WARNING has been issued following a reported scam in the Borders.

The incident happened two weeks ago in Peebles.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "A male in the Peebles area was contacted by telephone by a company stating they were Cranstonfield Associates.

"Following several phone calls and emails, they convinced the man that he had old shares valued at £57,540.21 held by their company.

"They stated he was now able to sell them if he made a deposit payment of £5,377.59.

"Fortunately this payment was intercepted and the male has suffered no loss of money.

"This incident shows that scammers continue to diversify their scams and can be very persistent and persuasive."

Police have also published a list of things you can do to protect yourself from fraudsters.

They include:

• Consider making your phone number ex-directory.

• Don’t give out any personal information unless you are the one who made the call and you are certain of the identity of the person you are speaking to.

• Don’t give out your credit card or bank card details to strangers on the telephone.

• NEVER tell somebody your bank PIN number, even if they claim to be the bank or police. If the caller is genuine they will never ask for this information.

• Don’t give out information which may infer that you live alone, are older or vulnerable.

• Never send money to anyone who claims to have a prize for you.

• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

• Contact local trading standards – they may be able to use approved ‘call blocking’ technology.