A woman went into a bank and tried to transfer £3,000 following a bogus telephone call from someone claiming to be from HMRC.

Police are urging people to be vigilant following the incident, and say they have received a number of reports of bogus callers claiming to be from HMRC.

The scammers make cold telephone calls purporting to be from HMRC and then tell the person they owe money and will be arrested if they do not pay immediately.

The woman attended a bank in Stowmarket this morning to make the £3,000 payment but a member of staff detected that she had been targeted by a scam and no money was lost.

Suffolk police is reminding people that government departments, banks, or any other legitimate body, will never make phone calls, use text messages or email to tell you about a tax rebate or penalty and will never ask for a payment in this way.

MORE: Tesco staff prevent scam after man told to buy £800 worth of gift cards by fraudstersHMRC Advice

1. Recognise the signs: Genuine organisations like banks and HMRC will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, password or bank details.

2. Stay safe: Do not give out private information, reply to text messages, download attachments or click on links in emails you weren't expecting.

3. Take action: Forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and texts to 60599, or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 to report any suspicious calls or use their online fraud reporting tool.

4. Check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams and recognise genuine HMRC contact.