Those up to no good will be aware that farmers across Wales are due to receive their single farm payment at the start of December and the risk of some falling into the scam trap is high.

Following a warning by Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit for southern Wales, which is expecting an influx of calls and emails to the farming community, attempting to trick them out of their money, the FUW is also warning farmers to be conscious of fraudsters.

Following similar annual patterns when farmers receive their funding from the Basic Payment Scheme, the police anticipate they will be targeted by the same attempts to fraudulently part them from their cash.

Criminals have been known to pose as banks, as well as authorities such as the police, to attempt to extort money though illegitimate means. They will either contact the victims via telephone, email or in person and request that money be moved to ‘safer’ locations, due to bogus security issues.

They will create a sense of urgency and may even know minor details about the victims to convince them they are genuine.

We therefore urge farmers and landowners to take the following measures to ensure they do not fall victim to these types of scams this coming winter: Never divulge personal information to anyone, over the phone, in person or on the computer from an email or pop up message or advert; If someone from the bank does call, hang up and using a different line or contacting a family member to ensure the previous call has disconnected, contact the bank directly and ascertain if the call was genuine. If it really is the bank calling, they won’t mind.

It is also worth remembering that if someone says they are from the police and asks for any transfer of money, hang up. The police will never do this and please don’t click on any links or open any attachments from unsolicited emails. Do check the sender’s details thoroughly before replying and as always, make contact with the sender separately and directly to ensure an email’s validity.

On a final note if you or anyone know is affected by fraud and cybercrime, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 to report the matter as soon as possible.