After receiving a series of confusing, yet rather convincing, phone calls, the 75-year-old eventually visited Muswellbrook Centrelink to set the record straight.

“The lady [on the phone] was quite abrupt,” she said.

“She had a very good Australian accent and went crook at me for not sending papers back to Centrelink.”

The senior said it caught her off guard because her pension was not processed into her account last week.

“She said I had to be registered and then told me I was getting $1000 back pay into my account,” the local woman admitted.

She was informed the woman would make an appointment for her – and that she would receive another call in half an hour.

Sure enough, a man called her a short time later to tell her there would be a small fee.

When she asked who she was supposed to meet at Centrelink, the caller dodged the question, before telling her the “small fee” would be $500.

She was then told that after checking her records, it was decided she would now receive $2000 back pay if she registered her details.

After telling her callers she would check it all with her son, she went to the Muswellbrook Centrelink office to tell them of the calls.

“Something just triggered in my brain,” she said.

“I told the lady at Centrelink and she said it was a scam.”

She said elderly people could see warnings in the media but forget when confronted by scammers.

“I nearly fell for it,” she said.

“I’ve got a lot of elderly friends and they are frail.

“I know plenty of people who would have fallen for it.

“I’m still stewing about it because I was so close to doing it.

“I [felt] like I should do something.”