THERE are reports of a telephone bank scam that has been circulating in the Stroud area.

One of our readers has reported receiving a scam call yesterday afternoon.

He said: "Out of the blue I had a phone call from someone, who said they were calling from my bank.

"They said that there had been an unauthorised bank transfer from my account of £600.

"They wanted me to give them my details, but it didn't seem quite right.

"It seemed odd, because I'd just been into my bank, the NatWest in Stroud, and nothing was mentioned then.

"I said I'm just going to call my bank and check this.

"They were very persistent and rang me straight back after I'd put the phone down.

"I just wanted to alert people to this. I might have got caught out if I hadn't popped into the bank earlier."

If you get a scam call:

Never give out personal or financial information (such as your bank account details or your PIN) over the phone, even if the caller claims to be from your bank.

If you're unsure whether the caller is genuine, you can always ring the company or bank they claim to be from. Make sure you find the number yourself and don’t use the one provided by the caller.