Test Valley Borough Council is warning residents to be on their guard against a scam offering fake council tax refunds in an attempt to access bank account details.
Scammers pretending to work for the council are phoning residents and claiming they are from the council tax department. They inform residents they have overpaid their council tax. The caller then requests bank details with the promise of a refund for the alleged overpayment. If successful, the resident is then given another number to call which informs them that they need to pay an administration fee to get the refund.
You should never give your bank details to anyone who calls out of the blue claiming to be a member of Test Valley Borough Council staff.
The council would never ring a resident to ask for their bank details to issue a refund. If an overpayment had been made, and a refund is due, the money would be refunded directly if it had been paid by direct debit, or a cheque would be sent to the bill payer’s address.
If it was really why would they phone coz surely the council would have bank details already