Lloyds is warning Britons of a new council tax scam circulating online to trick people into handing over their bank details. Council tax increased for a majority of households in April by five percent – and some as much as 15 percent, which has made it a target area for criminals to fraudulently offer discounts.
Britons have been receiving an email claiming to come from the Government Digital Service Team.
It offers a Council Tax Reduction for people on a low income, or who get certain benefits and to claim the refund, people have to click a link.
But this link instead goes to a fake page and attempts to trick people into giving away their banking details.
The Lloyds statement reads: “If you get an email like this, don’t reply or click on the link. Just delete it.”
READ MORE: Lloyds Bank warning after woman loses £100,000 to cruel fraud
Council tax reduction is a genuine benefit offered by the Government, however, a person must actively apply to receive it.
Discounts range from 25 percent to 100 percent, and how much a person is able to get depends on their living circumstances. People can read more and check their eligibility here.
According to research by Atlas VPN, UK residents lost a staggering £3.9billion to fraudsters in the last 12 months, which averages out to about £10.7million per day. During this period, there were 345,228 reported fraud cases.
London recorded the highest number of reported fraud cases, with 59,449 instances resulting in a massive £1.8billion loss, constituting nearly half (46 percent) of the total losses.
East England followed with 41,871 cases and £268million in losses while the North West had 38,627 cases and £171.9million in losses.
But while the South East region had fewer fraud cases (37,799) than East England and the North West, it incurred higher losses amounting to £390.4million, making it one of the regions worst hit by fraud.
Online shopping and auction scams were the most common with 67,460 cases reported in the past year, costing victims £103.2million collectively.
READ MORE: Briton makes £1,500 using straightforward money saving tip
It also said Amazon would never ask a customer to pay for anything via a phone call, nor will it call, text, or email a person about an order they’re not expecting and ask them urgently to confirm the purchase.
It added: “Amazon will not pressure you to act now. Scammers may try to create a sense of urgency to persuade you to do what they’re asking.”
If people think they may be being scammed, they can forward the email as an attachment to Action Fraud who will investigate. Alternatively, people can forward the scam message to [email protected].
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