Residents are being urged to be vigilant against a bogus cold calling scam in which fraudsters offer a council tax refund in exchange for bank details.

An Earlsdon resident was contacted by someone alleging to be a Council Officer saying that their property was in the wrong council tax band and as a result would be sent a refund, but to do this they needed the resident’s bank account details.

We urge residents to refrain from offering important data such as bank details to anyone unless they are completely sure that it is safe to do so.

The City Council will never call a resident out of the blue asking for bank details. The only time bank details will ever be discussed is if a customer calls the Council and provides their details in order to set up a payment or receive benefits.

Secondly, the Council does not cold call its residents about refunds and any council tax credits will be advised of in writing.

Therefore we would urge anyone who receives a cold call from someone claiming to be from the council and asking for bank details to hang up and, if necessary, call our customer services advisors to confirm if the call is genuine.

If you are in any doubt or you require information relating to your council tax account, contact the City Council’s Council Tax Team on 02476831111.

If you have given your bank details to someone, contact your bank immediately to get your card cancelled.

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We have been made aware of a new scam text doing the rounds claiming to be from Barclays Bank:

“Did you attempt a transfer of £1600 – 02/06/2015? Please contact us on 0843 289 8065 to confirm this transaction. Please have your PinSentry / Mobile App to hand”

Barclays Bank has posted a warning on their website confirming that this number does not match any genuine Barclays Fraud Department phone numbers.

A banking fraud campaign: Know Fraud, No Fraud gives information on the 8 things that banks will NEVER ask you to do which should help you avoid banking fraud:

• Ask for your PIN number or any online banking password over the phone or via email
• Send someone to your home to collect cash, bank cards or anything else
• Ask you to email or text personal or banking information
• Send an email with a link to a page which asks you to enter your online banking log-in details
• Ask you to authorise the transfer of funds to a new account or hand over cash
• Call to advise you to buy diamonds or land or other commodities
• Ask you to carry out a test transaction online
• Provide banking services through any mobile apps other than the bank’s official apps

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A Binley resident has alerted us to a letter they received claiming to be from the People’s Postcode Lottery.

The letter states that the resident has won £825,000 in a recent draw undertaken in Madrid, Spain. All you have to do to claim the prize is to contact their ‘London Agent’.

The letter also states that for ‘security reasons’ you should keep this win ‘confidential’.

These letters are a scam and no prize is available. Anyone contacting the ‘London Agent’ will be persuaded to part with personal details and money as part of an ‘upfront processing fee’.

If you receive this letter dispose of it without responding in any way.

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We have also received reports of a letter claiming that a Holbrooks resident had won $22,000,000 in the Australian Lotto.

The envelope gives an address in the Republic of Vanuatu which is a set of Islands in the South Pacific some 1,000 miles from Australia.  

To claim the ‘winnings’ a £10.00 fee is required that can be paid by cheque, money order, cash or by credit card. If the credit card option is chosen the ‘Acceptance’ form asks for all your card details including a signature and the 3 digit security code found on the back of the card.

This form can then be faxed to a number in the Republic of Vanatua or posted to an address in Queensland, Australia.

There are no winnings and if you respond you may become a victim of fraud and find that your details will be passed to others so that they too can bombard you with similar notifications.

The returns envelope also has a sinister warning – ‘Substantial Fines or 7 Yrs Imprisonment or both for any person who interferes with or obstructs delivery of this letter …’.

Our advice – put this and similar letters in the recycling bin.

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