Fraudsters posing as employees of Amazon or Amazon Prime have been preying on vulnerable people in East Devon, police have warned today.

Devon and Cornwall Police would like to make Sidmouth residents aware that it has received reports of various scams taking place where a cold caller, email, or automated call claims to be from Amazon or Amazon Prime.

Please be wary of all contact of this type – the scams have varied and include the following:

-Or by someone in person asking for vouchers to be purchased in a shop and codes to be handed over.

-Emails with links attached (to phishing sites).

Devon and Cornwall Police's Linzi Berryman said: "All of these are scams and instructions should not be followed, please hang up, don't give out any personal information or click on any links.

"If you want to check a call is genuine - hang up and make contact with the company via a reliable source.

"Please wait ten minutes before making another call or clear the line by phoning a friend/family member."

If you have any concerns please phone 101 or email [email protected]. If you have fallen victim to a scam, please report this to Action Fraud.

Please report any suspicious emails you receive to the National Cyber Security Centre: [email protected]