Residents are being cautioned against an Amazon Prime phone scam currently doing the rounds in Pembrokeshire

The warning comes from Pembrokeshire County Council’s Trading Standards team.

They say they have received reports from residents that they have been contacted on the phone by

•Callers asking to talk about Amazon Prime membership OR,

•A recorded message asking to press a certain number to either cancel an Amazon Prime subscription or if they didn’t request a subscription, to receive a refund.

If the resident does this, they are automatically connected to fraudsters posing as Amazon representatives who persuade them to download software enabling criminals to remotely access their computer and steal personal details - or worse, obtain access to online banking accounts.

Amazon’s website states: “If you receive a suspicious phone call, email or text message claiming to be from Amazon, asking for payment, personal information or offering a refund you do not expect, please do not share any personal information, and disconnect any phone call immediately.

“Please also note that Amazon will never ask for your personal information, or ask you to make a payment outside of our website (e.g. via bank transfer, emailing credit card details, etc.). If you received an e-mail regarding an order or Prime membership, or anything that you don't recognise, please forward the e-mail to stop-spoofing@amazon.com and then delete it.”

Cllr Cris Tomos, Cabinet Member for public protection gave the following advice: “Always be wary of telephone calls coming out of the blue; don’t give out any banking details or pin numbers over the phone even if they claim to be from a well-known company, bank or even the police.

“Requests to remote access your computer should always be ignored.

“If you receive such a call, hang up immediately or if you are unsure whether they are genuine, contact the organisation directly yourself using a number you know or have found yourself, not one the unsolicited callers have given you. Genuine callers will be happy for you to do this.”

•If anyone cold calls you requesting personal information, report them to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506 (English language) or 03454 040505 (Welsh language). You can also request a call-blocking device to be fitted to your landline via this number which will reduce the number of nuisance calls you receive.