THE latest phone scam has arrived in central Victoria, bearing remarkable similarity to a phone scam doing the rounds of the regions last year.

Victoria Police have issued a warning to residents, particularly those in Castlemaine, to be wary of any phone calls from people who claim to be from the Australian Taxation Office.

The scam involves telling the victim they have an outstanding tax debt, or they fraudulently filled out their tax return.

The caller is threatened with legal action or police attendance at their address if they do not pay immediately.

One Heathcote household had three messages left on its answering over the weekend.

A similar scam was attempted in Castlemaine and Maldon in October last year. In that instance, victims were urged to purchase Load&Go prepaid cards in $1000 increments. The calls came from people claiming to be from the ATO.

More than 20 people contacted Castlemaine police with concerns about the scam. One resident was scammed out of thousands of dollars.

Phone scams generally do not have borders, meaning scammers could target Bendigo or other areas.

For more information on scams, visit www.scamwatch.gov.au