Email Council Tax Scam Targets Caerphilly Resident

Caerphilly County Borough Council is keen to make residents aware of an e-mail scam targeting council taxpayers. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

A resident from Caerphilly county borough has recently contacted the Council after receiving an e-mail from someone purporting to be a Revenues Advisor from Unity Partnership. The e-mail stated that the recipient was due to receive a refund on their Council Tax bill. The recipient was then advised to fill in a form attached to the e-mail in order to receive the refund. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Fortunately, the resident had the foresight to contact the Caerphilly Council directly. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Nigel George, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Public Protection said: “This e-mail was in no way associated with Caerphilly County Borough Council, Unity Partnership or Oldham Council and I would like to thank the resident for bringing this to our attention in order to make other residents aware. In this instance, the contact details provided on the e-mail were correct for Oldham Council; however this has been confirmed as a scam e-mail”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

He continued: “Never provide bank or personal details to anyone you do not know or trust either in writing or over the telephone. If in any doubt at all, please contact our Trading Standards Team for advice”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

To report an issue to the Council’s Trading Standards team, please call 01495 235 291 or visit www.caerphilly.gov.uk/tradingstandards ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​