USERS of telecare systems in and around the Wee County are being urged to be aware of cold callers who may attempt to scam them.

Stirling and Clackmannanshire Trading Standards has issued a scam alert after a number of residents in the area have received unsolicited phone calls from a company who claimed that they were upgrading the telecare system and asked for bank details.

Telecare mobile emergency care service (MECS) offers remote care for older people and those who are less mobile, linking equipment at home with a 24-7 monitoring service.

Clacks and Stirling councils are reassuring residents they would never cold-call MECS/telecare users and ask for their bank details.

People receiving such calls are being urged to hang up as it is a scam.

It is believed scammers are seeking to use uncertainty over the digital switchover to attempt to defraud customers, telling users that their provider is no longer in business or that they need to pay to keep the service running.

One company name reportedly used in these calls is “Home Help” and the call came from the number 0113 525 2138.

MECS is provided by social services at the two local authorities to enable vulnerable people and their carers to call for assistance in an emergency at any time.

People in doubt over whether a call is genuine should hang up and call back on a number they have sourced themselves – genuine callers should have no issue with this.

Advice Direct Scotland is available on 0808 164 6000 for further advice on scams and scam prevention.