Con was tried three times

Officers got in touch about a criminal who tried to part an 84-year-old woman within the authority from a whopping £1087.

The caller - who was male- told the pensioner he that she was from the Inland Revenue and that this was the sum the lady owed in unpaid tax.

He then said that the sum could be paid back in the form of Amazon gift vouchers.

Sensing rightly that the call was a con, the woman put the phone down but the matter did not end there.

For she then received not one but two calls from a female repeating the entirely baseless claim that her tax affairs were not in order.

After putting the phone down, the lady contacted police who are now warning the public to be on their guard.

And Amazon itself wants to reinforce that message.

A spokesperson said: “We want to make sure our customers are aware of scams involving these cards.

“It’s important for you to know that they can only be used for purchases online at Amazon.co.uk.

The multi-media giant has also issued a separate warning about a voicemail scam which saw a man from Glasgow in his 60s lose more than £65,000.

This asks callers to engage with a process via computer which relates to payments for the company’s Prime service by submitting personal date. This is promptly used to empty a bank account and should not be engaged with.