Elderly conned out of up to £350

If you are contacted by callers claiming you are entitled to a council tax rebate beware – it’s likely to be a scam.

Action Fraud – which is supported by Humberside Police – has received a number of reports of callers claiming residents have been placed in the wrong council tax bracket and are entitled to a rebate of around £7,000.

However, the scammers claim that in order to release the funds an administration fee of between £60 and £350 must be paid.

Once the payment is made, the victim is unable to contact the scammer. When victims call their local council, the council will confirm it knows nothing about it and the victim is not entitled to any refund.

The fraudsters have so far mainly targeted elderly residents in Sussex, but it is likely other areas will be targeted too.

Head of Action Fraud, Pauline Smith said: “Fraudsters are relentless and will work tirelessly to find new ways to convince people to part with their money. These criminals make several calls and will be particularly convincing and provide good reason for why the person should make an immediate payment.  We urge people to be vigilant and never respond to these callers who are simply trying to scam you.”

Follow these top tips to avoid falling victim to fraudsters:

• Never respond to unsolicited phone calls
• Your local council won’t ever phone out-of-the-blue to discuss a council tax rebate, if you receive a call of this nature, put the phone down straight away.
• No legitimate organisation will ask you to pay an advanced fee in order receive money; so never give them your card details.
• If you think you have been a victim of fraud, hang up the phone and wait five minutes to clear the line as fraudsters sometimes keep the line open. Then call your bank or card issuer to report the fraud. Where it is possible use a different phone line to make the phone call.

To report a fraud, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or click here.