The Sedalia Police Department is alerting area residents about a scam.

Police officials say the scammers are calling from phone numbers to appear as local banks or credit institutions. When people answer, the scammers are asking for PIN numbers so they can work on your account.

Authorities urge you to not give your PIN number over the phone. They say lending institutions will never ask for PIN numbers over the phone.

If you receive a call like this, and you do not know if it is legitimate, authorities advise you to hang up and call your bank directly using the actual phone number you know belongs to it.

If it was not your bank attempting to call you, let it know someone has tried to compromise your account.

So, authorities advise: if you have concerns about giving out information over the phone, listen to your instincts: Hang up and call your bank directly.