Reports of imposters contacting patients and claiming to be from the HSE

Reports are emerging of people in Mayo and other counties receiving hoax calls from fraudsters claiming to be from the HSE.

Showing as an 01 number, the imposters appear to be in possession of personal details of the unsuspecting people they are calling - including date of birth, PPS number and information relating to recent hospital visits.

By way of trying to secure the person's bank details, they claim they were overcharged and a refund is due and would be sent directly to their accounts.

A number of GPs have been contacted by patients left distressed by these calls.

The advice is to hang-up - no matter how genuine the calls may seem.