Halton Borough Council Trading Standards is warning consumers about fake emails offering National Insurance refunds. The emails are designed to look like an official government department communication.
The email informs the recipient that according to their National Insurance contributions, they are eligible for a tax refund as part of measures to alleviate the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown.
The email asks the recipient to click a link to “claim your National Insurance refund”.
Halton Borough Council’s Executive Board Member for Trading Standards, Cllr Dave Cargill, said: “The link goes to a page which requests the banking details of the user which sends the data to fraudsters. This is a scam, simply delete the email.“
It is the latest in a long line a scams, using Covid-19 to try and con people out of their money.
If you or somebody you know has been caught out by a scam or fraud please contact one of our specialist officers, Linda or Sue on 0151 511 8785 or 0151 511 8775, who are already working with people in Halton who have lost thousands of pounds to scams.
If you need advice on anything else please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline or 0808 223 1133
