SUFFOLK Police has issued a warning after a woman in Halesworth contacted them about a telephone scam.

The woman received a call from a person purporting to be from Ministry of Justice saying that in return for a �99 Ukash voucher she would receive a cheque for more than �3,000.

The caller contacted the woman on Friday, June 8, made reference to overpaid bank charges and said that once she had obtained the voucher she should forward it to a company and would then receive a cheque via a courier.

The woman contacted police before purchasing the voucher after becoming suspicious.

This is the latest in a number of telephone scams and as a result Suffolk Police are warning people to be wary of callers wanting money in return for a larger sum.

In similar incidents callers have claimed to work for a range of organisations including the Ministry of Justice and London County Court.

In some cases the callers know basic information such as the name and address of the person they are calling and use this information to encourage people to get Ukash vouchers which either need to be sent or will be collected in return for thousands of pounds to follow at a later date.

Officers are reminding residents never to respond to anything which demands you hand over cash before reclaiming funds.

Genuine refunds will be automatically delivered without you having to pay anything and you should never respond to demands for money to be sent in this way.

Similar scams are often used with the promise of a prize or reward in the future and many people have been duped into sending off hundreds or thousands of pounds before they realise it is just a ploy to con you out of cash.

A spokesman said: 'Please be extremely cautious when dealing with any unknown callers - never respond to requests for money and never give out personal or bank details or PIN numbers over the phone.'