Coronavirus-related council tax scam alert issued

Published Tuesday, 22nd September 2020

Residents of Hartlepool are being warned to be on their guard against a potential council tax scam linked to the coronavirus emergency.

This follows an alert issued by the National Anti-Fraud Network after a resident of a London Borough received a letter seemingly from their local council relating to a potential reduction in council tax, claiming it was part of the Government’s response to COVID-19.

The letter directed them to what appeared to be a Government website where they were prompted to enter a 6-digit reference number contained within the letter. Upon entering the number, the address that the letter was sent to was displayed and the resident was asked to provide certain personal information.

While both the letter and the website were fake, they appeared to be of good quality.

Residents receiving such correspondence are asked to note the following:

  • The web address in this case ended .co.uk when, almost invariably, online business conducted by local and central government organisations in the UK will use the .gov.uk address. The use of the word “gov” anywhere in a web address other than immediately before .uk may well signal an attempted fraud.
  • The standard of English used in the letter falls far below what a council would use in generic correspondence.
  • Any council tax correspondence sent out by Hartlepool Borough Council will always include the recipient’s council tax account number. The accuracy of this number can be verified by double checking it with the account number included on annual council tax bills issued by the authority in March.

Any resident who receives a letter relating to council tax from Hartlepool Borough Council and who doubts its authenticity should call (01429) 284277.