A conman pretending to be from the ‘income tax’ office attempted to steal £6,000 from a Huddersfield pensioner.

The woman, in her 70s, was called by an anonymous man claiming to be from HMRC.

The caller claimed the woman owed £6,000 in income tax and that the police were involved.

The woman withdraw some money from her bank but the bank where she attempted to deposit the money blocked the transaction and alerted the police.

Three incidents of a similar nature have been reported to police in the past 24 hours.

PC Anthony Spiteri, of Huddersfield District Police, said: “We ask residents to remain vigilant and not to pass on any personal or bank details to anyone they are not expecting a call from.

“If you are unsure ask for a contact telephone number and for a letter to be sent to you. Never feel under pressure, you are under no obligation to give them personal details over the telephone.

“Make sure you check their identification and if you have any doubts at all about their authenticity ask them to wait while you call the company they claim to work for to verify they are indeed an employee.”

Anyone with any information or concerns is asked to contact the police via 101 quoting crime reference number 13170377507 or alternatively information can be passed to Action Fraud.