A Dover resident received a telephone call from "a foreign sounding man" claiming to be from a government department, advising that as the resident paid their Council Tax and did not have a criminal record they were entitled to a reward of £5000 to £7000 through a new "Good Citizen Scheme".
The caller told the consumer that in order to release the money they needed to pay £299.00 via PayPoint.
The caller then directed the resident to their nearest PayPoint outlet which was the Co Op store in River, Dover.
Fortunately the resident knew this was a scam and did not carry out the caller's request, despite numerous subsequent telephone calls received from the bogus caller chasing the payment.
Kent Trading Standards are warning consumers to be very wary of anybody contacting them purporting to be from the government. There is no known Good Citizen Scheme.
Please contact Consumer Direct on 0808 156 2256 or go to
www.direct.gov.uk if you need further advice on your consumer rights, or want to report any businesses or incidents you have concerns about.