Manning Great Lakes Local Area Command crime prevention officer senior constable Ray Slade has called on the public to be cautious following a spate of scams across the area.

Recently, the police unit have received multiple reports from concerned locals who have received phone calls from someone claiming to be from the Australian Tax Office or Telstra.

The caller then tells the person that they have an outstanding debt and that it must be repaid through gift cards.

A hoax text message disguised to be from the Commonwealth Bank tells receivers that their NetBank account has been locked and that they must press on a link to restore it. 

If pressed, the link can subject users to harmful malware.

An email is also in circulation, claimed to be from company Origin Energy. 

The scam claims to be a bill requiring immediate payment from the address noreply@originenergysolar.net.

Another phishing email, branded as the National Australia Bank, encourages receivers to click on a link that unlocks their supposed disabled account.

The scams go as far as a letter disguised as the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network; ironically an avenue for people to report scams.

Officer Slade insisted these scams are commonly based overseas and various areas of Australia.

He said the ability of officers to stop the scams is difficult due to the stealthy nature of scammers. 

Officer Slade said that older residents may be more susceptible to scams due to being more trusting and may posses a lack of knowledge with current technology.

He has encouraged residents who receive a suspicious email, letter, text message or phone call to avoid giving out personal information unless the person is certain of the legitimacy.

Any suspicions of a scam should be reported to www.scamwatch.gov.au or call 1300 795 995.