Tamworth scam: New England Police District police station numbers being hijacked to scam residents

New England Police District officers have urged local to be vigilant about the scam which uses caller ID "spoofing" to make it look like the call comes from a legitimate number.

Chief Inspector Rowan O'Brien said the scammers have used local police station phone numbers to rip-off residents.

"Police, or any other legitimate government department or financial institution will never call you and ask for your personal banking information or payments in gift cards, cryptocurrency or money transfers," he said.

"It is important to take independent steps to verify a caller's identity before providing any personal information or payment of any sort, irrespective of the phone number displayed, or who a caller claims to work for."

The scam involves a call from what appears to be a well-known or trusted government phone number and the caller impersonates a police officer to legitimise the scam.

It's one that has done the rounds for a while, but police are concerned that scammers have turned their attention to New England Police District stations which could result in more members of the community falling victim, Mr O'Brien said.

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"Please make your own enquiries if you do receive a phone call from what appears to be a police station, take down the callers details, find a number yourself and dial it in, rather than returning a call you may have missed or were directed to," he said.

Police officers will never request a PIN number or bank details, ask for money to be transferred out of an account, ask for a cash withdrawal or send someone to a residence to collect cash, cards or a PIN number.

Reports can be made to the Australian Cyber Security Centre or Scamwatch.

Anyone who has made a payment to a scammer should contact their financial institution immediately.