SOUTH Hams residents are receiving phone calls from abroad, in particular, India, as part of a scam according to police.

The phone calls make reference to the owners’ computers needing urgent repair and that they need to accept software on their computer called Team Viewer, which gives the caller remote access to control the computer.

A police spokesman said: ‘They are targeting elderly residents and requesting bank transfers in the region of £9,500 to fix the problem and only when the money has been transferred.

‘Local banks have stated that the fraudsters are aware that anything under £10,000 will not be raised as an issue by the bank.

‘The callers purport to be calling from Micro Tech in India using the name of John or Michael Watson or Windows Technical Support using the name of Frederick calling on number 0208 2621858.

‘Please be aware of such calls, do not enter into any transactions or provide any personal details. Please advise any elderly neighbours, family or friends regarding this scam.’