SOPHISTICATED con artists are pretending to be from Oxford City Council.

In what appears to be the latest scam, the council has warned residents that their personal bank details are at risk.

An email has been sent to residents from the ‘Government Digital Service Team’ – a made-up organisation.

It alerts the person reading the email that they are entitled to a council tax reduction before directing them onto a malicious site set up to harvest personal information.

Cybersecurity firm Absolute Software has warned that, since the start of the pandemic, the cyber threat facing adults has surged, and the latest attack is just one of many designed to fool and prey on vulnerable and elderly people.

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Oxford City Council’s Investigation Service works with fraud prevention organisations to highlight current and emerging types of frauds and scams in the area.

Many follow a similar pattern, latching onto people who are desperate or vulnerable.

Councillor Ed Turner, the cabinet member for finance, said: "Scammers may contact people by phone, text or email, or they may knock on your door.

"They may pose as staff from the council, the Valuation Office Agency or the Tax Recovery Bureau to lure people into their scam. Don’t be taken in!

"They may tell people that they have paid too much Council Tax and are due a refund that fraudsters offer to claim on their behalf for a fee.

"But please take note - the council will never ask for payment to make a Council Tax refund.”

Other types of scams include telling people they are in the wrong council tax band, offering refunds in return for a fee.

But Council Tax band reassessments are free.

Other criminals demand payments for ‘council tax arrears’ – which might not exist.

What to do if you think you're being scammed:

The council has warned residents that staff will never ask for personal information or bank details to give refunds or arrange arrears collection.

  • To check the person getting in touch with you is not a scammer, call 01865 249811.
  • Alternatively email counciltax@oxford.gov.uk
  • All of the city council email addresses will end with @oxford.gov.uk
  • In an emergency always call police on 999 or non-emergency on 101.