A Tesco worker stopped an elderly resident from becoming the victim of a HMRC scam.

The incident happened on Monday evening when a Purbeck resident in their 60s was contacted by phone and bombarded with information about being in debt to the HMRC and that they had to pay £1397.

The resident was then told that if they did not comply their driving licence would be revoked, their bank account would be shut down, and their car would be seized to pay the debt. They were told to go to Tesco and purchase iTunes vouchers worth £1400 and a courier would collect them.

Whilst in the process of trying to purchase the vouchers the resident was alerted to the scam by a member of staff from Tesco, who was not comfortable with the situation and decided to call the police.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “Please be aware and advise your friends and family. Anyone can be the victim of a scam.”