THE PUBLIC have been urged to be wary of a new Email scam which tries to coerce people into giving out their bank or building society details online.

A Kirkcaldy woman contacted The Courier this week to highlight the latest swindling technique doing the rounds and warned other people not to fall into the criminals’ trap.

The scam involves an Email being sent to individuals, purporting to be from the Inland Revenue, which says that a tax rebate is due to them and giving them a claim form to fill in.

It looks completely genuine as those behind the Email appear to have copied aspects of the Inland Revenue website, using the appropriate logos, colours and formats.

However, after contacting the Inland Revenue with her concerns, staff there confirmed she had almost become the victim of a scam.

The woman said that the money apparently due to her was £197—small enough to be feasible yet large enough to warrant claiming.

“I thought that I was really quite savvy when it comes to this but this was very cunning,” she said.

“Alarm bells rang when I realised they had not put in my national insurance or reference number but just asked for name, address and credit card details.”

The Inland Revenue urged anyone who receives such an Email to delete it.