Rutland County Council has called on residents to be 'scammer aware.'

The council said on social media: "If you receive a text, phone call or email asking for your bank details it is likely to be a scam.

"You can report this by telephoning 0300 123 2040 or visiting https://actionfraudalert.co.uk."

The warning follows similar warnings from police in Lincolnshire, as well as Action Fraud, which reported that by December 18, there had been more than 120 cases of such fraud nationally.

As Nub News reported in Stamford, frauds have included people pretending to be police officers, as well as text messages claiming to be from the DPD delivery company.