Scammers are targeting Herefordshire households by telephone, pretending that residents are due a refund on their Council Tax and asking for bank and card details.
Herefordshire Council will always write to customers to advise them of any refund and would never ask for bank or card details over the phone.
Fraudsters often use the phone to cold call their way into your home. They trick you by pretending to be from a trusted source, such as the council, your bank, the police, a utility provider or a computer company. Their aim is to get hold of your personal or financial information like bank details and passwords. Scammers can be very persuasive and relentless – if they can get access to your bank cards, or persuade you to transfer money into bank accounts they control, then most of their work is done.
The good news is that it’s easy to protect yourself:
If you receive an unsolicited call from a company you don’t recognise, hang up
Never give out personal or bank details over the telephone
Don’t feel pressured to make a decision over the telephone
Consider a call blocking device to filter out unwanted calls
If you think you have been targeted by a scammer, call Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06.
Citizens Advice will give you advice on what to do next, and report the scam to Herefordshire Council’s Trading Standards team for investigation.
