Householders in the region are being advised to avoid scam phonecalls if they have caller identity on their phones and see a number that starts with the prefix 0051.

Castlebar gardai told Midwest News today that they have received complaints from a number of householders that have received such calls from a phone number that starts with 0051.

0051 is the pre-fix for Peru and gardai are advising householders to avoid answering the call if they see it.

The caller asks the householder to turn on their computer – saying that they are ringing from Microsoft and checking on their computer. This particular scam has been ongoing for some time and obviously the householder should not do so.

However, over the past number of days householders who refuse to turn on their computer are then subjected to aggressive and even abusive language by the caller.

Gardai say they cannot stop the calls but are advising householders that see this 0051 prefix not to answer the call and avoid the verbal assault.