"So cruel": Why an emergency call for help is screaming back abuse at thousands of Aussies.

There is a scary new scam circulating, and it’s proving hard to resist.

What would you do if you received the text message; “Please call me back right away. It’s an emergency. I need your help!”

You’d call it of course. Wouldn’t you?

Well apparently when recipients do, they are met with a torrent of verbal abuse and swearing.

It leaves the caller so shocked they’re frozen for a few seconds, minutes even as they come to terms with what is happening.

“It scared the s*** out of me, so cruel,” one victim wrote on social media.

Side note: Unfortunately scams come in all forms and across multiple platforms. Deb Knight was shocked to discover one on Facebook using her name. Post continues after video.

Scamwatch have released a statement calling the emergency text messages a; “new and emerging issue.”

No money has been lost as a result of the calls, but it is leaving people pretty distressed. Scamwatch thinks the reason behind it, is to collect phone numbers.

“Exercise caution or do not respond to these text messages,” it warns.

The number the text comes through on, is not in your mobile contacts.

Richmond police in Sydney’s west said a victim in their area let the call play out, only to have the swearing continue for “about five minutes.”

The other major scam circulating (still) is the “tax scam.”

A caller leaves a voice message on victim’s phones informing they need to contact a phone number in relation to an outstanding debt, or face imminent arrest and jail time.

The Tax Office will never threaten to arrest you…so keep an eye out for this scam too. It has been duping thousands of people since the tax cut off last year.