A 65-year-old woman has been saved from giving £1,500 worth of iTunes vouchers to a fraudster who called her home, thanks to staff at her local Tesco store.

The woman was left shaking after being threatened with arrest and fines totalling £96,000 for unpaid taxes by a fraudster who telephoned her home pretending to work for the HMRC.

“I was absolutely terrified”, she told Grimsby Telegraph.

“He said that I owed the government money which I needed to pay immediately or I would be arrested.”

The pensioner agreed to pay the caller hundreds of thousands of pounds in iTunes vouchers.

“He warned me that if I didn’t do what he said, I could be fined £96,000 and we could lose our house or my husband’s car.

“He told me that if I spoke to anyone on the way, I would also be arrested.”

She was only stopped from making the large purchase by shop workers at a Tesco store in Grimsby.

Staff quickly realised the woman had fallen victim to a popular scam, after questioning her and called the police.

She said: “They asked me what the vouchers were for, and I told them it was for my grandchildren.

“When they asked again, I burst out crying and told them what was really happening.”

The store’s manager then telephoned the conman telling him to stop calling the woman.

‘My chest has been tight all day since it happened’

She said: “I have asthma, and my chest has been tight all day since it happened.

“If I’d had a heart condition, it could have been much, much worse.”

A statement from Humberside Police said: “We have received a number of recent reports of fraudsters contacting victims via telephone and demanding payment by way of gift card or iTunes vouchers.

“A recent victim gave away over £200 by purchasing iTunes vouchers and providing the codes to the suspect.”

Police advise anyone who receives a suspicious call to put the phone down straight away and contact Humberside Police on 101.

Leymar Healthcare provide Homecare Services in Ashfield and 24 Hour Live in Care in the UK to vulnerable adults in their community. Please contact our office on 01623 360 193 or email us at info@leymarltd.co.uk.