POLICE in Crewe are warning residents about a Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) scam after a local man was conned out of £500.

The scam mirrors a national problem, and this is one of several to have been reported across Cheshire.

The con artists will cold call their victim, claiming to offer refunds on mis-sold PPI.

They then ask the victim to purchase a quantity of ‘Ukash′ vouchers as ‘commission′ for the refund.

‘Ukash′ vouchers are used to buy goods online and are available in shops and post offices.

The fraudsters then request the code on the voucher, enabling them to steal the money. The victim does not receive the PPI refund.

The latest victim, a 79-year-old man from Crewe, was targeted in the same way earlier this month.

PC Andy Mannering of Crewe NPU said: "We would like to highlight this scam to people and ask them to make their elderly relatives and friends aware about it.

“We would ask that anyone who receives a call of this nature, or who believes they may have been a victim, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 as soon as possible.”

In a seperate development, Cheshire Police have reported a scam currently taking place in which fraudsters claim to be from Action Fraud – the UK’s anti fraud reporting service. The caller states that they are from Action Fraud and that the person they are calling is entitled to compensation from a recent incident.

The scammer then asks for money to be sent via a Ukash voucher in order to process the compensation claim. The amount asked for is usually in the range of £200 to £400.

Action Fraud is warning people not to pay these bogus telephone callers; there is no way to retrieve Ukash payments as they are in effect cash transactions. This is a scam. You will lose your money.

Pete Kidd, detective Sergeant from Crime Operations Team, explained: “The genuine Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud reporting centre, where consumers can report if they have been scammed or defrauded.

Victims of fraud who report an incident via our online reporting centre or call Action Fraud will receive a crime reference number which is the victim’s unique reference which only they will know. Any representative of Action Fraud would quote this number but in most cases, reported frauds or scams would be passed onto Cheshire Police Fraud Team to then make contact.”

You can report fraud online via actionfraud.police.uk or call on 0300 123 2040.