Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards experts are warning people to beware of bogus phone calls relating to library fines.

This warning comes after a resident was contacted out of the blue about overdue library charges.

The caller claimed that the charges had been accrued by a family member, who had unfortunately passed away.

Library services would never contact anyone in this way.

The advice for anyone receiving a call like this is:

• Do not pass over any personal or banking information. Hang up and block the number if possible.
• Contact your local library if you are concerned about overdue charges
• Contact Citizens Advice on 03454 04 05 06 giving as much information as possible about the scam, including phone numbers and names

County Councillor Albert Atkinson, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, Said: "This is another example of scammers targeting vulnerable people, preying on the bereaved in an attempt to get their bank details.

"It's possible these crooks could have seen the sad news online, social media, in newspapers or may even have been sold the information.

"They have acted on this information and made a call. Their intention was to withdraw as much money as possible from the victim's account.

"Never give any banking or personal details if you receive a call like this and contact us via Citizen's Advice as soon as possible."

Keep an eye on our [https://en-gb.facebook.com/pg/StanleyDards/about/ Scambuster Stan Facebook page] for the latest scam and consumer alert updates.

Contact our Trading Standards team via the Citizen's Advice helpline, 03454 04 05 06.

For more information about library fines and charges, visit our [https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/librar...ves/libraries/ libraries and archive pages]