HM Revenue and Customs has warned against bogus emails and phone calls trying to obtain people's information.

Internet fraudsters try to obtain personal information by posing as the tax office, credit card issuers or the phone company, this is known as phishing.

John Wearing, of Parade Street Barrow was targeted with a fake email, claiming to offer a £460 tax refund from HMRC.

He said: “I just think people should know about it to save anybody else being scammed.

“Old people, vulnerable people could be taken in by it.

“I would like more to be done about it; I get four, five, even six, emails a day.”

A spokesman from HMRC said: "HMRC takes taxpayer's data security extremely seriously.

We are aware that some people have received phone calls from people claiming to be HMRC, requesting payment for alleged tax debt, or received text messages or emails promising a tax refund."

A recent survey found that four out of 10 people were worried about being scammed online.

HMRC were keen to stress that they will never ask for personal information, and they are working to combat this crime.

They said: "HMRC will never notify you of a tax rebate, offer you repayment, or ask you to disclose personal or financial details by email or by text.

“We continue our work with law enforcement agencies around the world to bring down the criminals behind these scams.

“Last year HMRC closed more than 14,000 fake websites and continues to protect customers by constantly searching for these types of activity.”

Are you worried about internet fraudsters? Let us know here http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/Evening-Mail-debate-Are-you-scared-of-being-scammed-online-c209ddf3-c1e5-43de-bc7d-e9432dc84765-ds

For government advice on internet safety visit https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing