Council warn residents of bogus payment callers

Aug 20 2008 by Ben Coulbeck, Chester Chronicle

CHESTER City Council has issued a public warning after residents in neighbouring Vale Royal residents were targeted by bogus telephone callers.

Mid Cheshire householders were contacted by individuals falsely claiming to be from the council’s finance department. The bogus callers then demanded bank account details after saying that council tax payments can be claimed or refunded.

No such incidents have been reported in Chester but the City Council have moved quickly to warn residents to be aware of these fraudulent calls.

A council spokesperson said: “The city council, like Vale Royal Borough Council, wants to make it clear that it would never request this sort of personal information over the phone and is asking the public to be vigilant and not give any personal or bank details over the phone.”

Since, Vale Royal were alerted to the problem, only one further crime of bogus calling has been reported, in the neighbouring borough of Halton.

If you believe that you have received a potentially fraudulent call please let the city council know by calling the internal audit section on 01244 402167.