Phone scam hits South Grafton

FRANCES Blackadder was surprised to receive a phone call to tell her the "taxation department" owes her over $6000.

The South Grafton woman was told by a female caller she was owed money due to over charging.

"They wanted my name, birth date, my bank account details and the gave me a number to ring to claim the money," Mrs Blackadder said.

"When I rang the number, I was sure I was talking to the same girl."

The only catch, Mrs Blackadder was told, was she needed to pay a solicitor's fee of $285 at the post office.

Realising it was a scam, she chose to play along to find out more details.

Mrs Blackadder said she gets lots of phone calls like this, and she wanted to make sure other people didn't believe they were real.

"No way does the taxation office ring you to tell you about this kind of thing," she said.