Christmas scams - beware!

She said: “Christmas is a busy time and people are more likely to be using credit cards, bank accounts etc. to pay for things. It’s important however, that everyone remains vigilant against malicious callers attempting to trick people into handing over their personal details.

“You’re much more likely to believe a call about your bank account or credit card is genuine if you’ve been using it more frequently than usual. Scammers know this and they’ll use the Christmas period as an opportunity to prey on vulnerable people. We all need to be careful and make sure we look out for friends and family members who may be targeted by these thieves.

“As a simple rule of thumb, do not give out personal details over the phone. If the caller is genuine, they won’t mind you calling into your local bank branch to verify that everything is above board.

“This can be an expensive time of year and the last thing any family needs is a malicious thief emptying large amounts of money from their bank accounts because of a naïve mistake.”