TRADING Standards is warning Islanders to watch out for scammers posing as Isle of Wight Council and DVLA representatives.

An Island businessman has reported a call he received from a scammer purporting to be from the council, who was attempting to get him to advertise his business in a brochure raising funds for St Mary's Hospital.

Trading Standards says this is a common scam which can affect businesses, and scammers will prey on your good nature and desire to do something for your local community, take your money and the brochure will never materialise.

A spokesperson for Trading Standards said: "The caller was not from the Isle of Wight Council and was certainly a scammer.

"Please be careful, especially at the minute as life is quite challenging.

"Another common scam is back doing the rounds ­— emails purporting to be from the DVLA.

"They will tell you your vehicle is no longer taxed and you need to click on a link to make a payment or update your bank details.

"This is a scam, never click on links in messages, and if you check the senders email address it will not be a genuine one."