Allerdale Borough Council issues warning about an attempted Email Phishing Scam

Allerdale Borough Council warns its customers regarding a new phishing scam, which attempts to steal the financial details of the customers. A non-metropolitan district of Cumbria in England, Allerdale has got a borough status. The council of Allerdale is based at Workington.

According to Allerdale Borough Council, numerous customers have contacted them regarding receipt of an email which appears to have come from tax office (i.e. HMRC). The customers revealed that the email informs them that they are due for their council tax refund. The email that has come from "@tax.com" address comes along with a link. This link, when clicked, leads the customer to a website, which firstly asks for the postcode details. After that, it requests the customer to provide the bank information.

However, the reality is these emails were believed to be nothing else but a phishing scam. The council has not sent any such emails, and the email system of the council has not been compromised. So as these emails are fake, they can often lead to loss and misuse of customers' personal data. As per the Allerdale Borough Council, they inform the customers personally by post if anyone is due for a refund. If the council already has a customer's bank details, the refund money is credited to the customer's bank directly. In case the council does not have the customer's bank details, they are asked to contact the council, so that the refund can be paid to them.

After getting aware about such an email phishing scam, Allerdale Borough Council has issued an advice to all those who receives such spam emails. They have advises them not to open any such mails that are doubtful, as opening them might lead to loss and misuse of personal information. As per the council, the receiver of such mails should immediately delete them instead.

Executive member having responsibility for the customer services, Konrad Hansen, said that "unfortunately, it looks like this is a phishing exercise by someone trying to get hold of people's financial details. I'd like to thank the customers who have contacted us already about this and would recommend anyone who receives an email like this, or similar, to just delete it".

» SPAMfighter News - 1/30/2019