A COUNCIL chief has been warning residents “to be on their guard” against a council tax scam.

Leader of Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) Councillor Phil North alerted residents about telephone fraudsters offering fake council tax refunds in an attempt to access bank account details.

Through his social media account on Facebook, last week Cllr North said the con involved scammers pretending to work for the authority the council tax department.

The post added certain signs to watch for and techniques which the fraudsters use to ensnare their victims.

The fraudsters tell their victims they have excessively paid their annual levy and then make requests for their bank account details with the promise of a refund for the claimed overpayment.

The con artist caller then gives the resident another number to phone, which, when they do, informs them they need to pay an administration fee in order to get the refund.

A message on the borough council’s homepage of its website also alerted residents to the scam.

Cllr North added in his Facebook post: “You should never give your bank details to anyone who calls out of the blue claiming to be a member of TVBC 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.”

On approaching the borough council for more information, a spokesperson confirmed the scam has not been a “significant problem within the borough”.

The warning has since been taken down from the council website’s homepage.

This is not the first time fraudsters have tried to trick victims as TVBC’s council tax online page has a section warning residents to the scam, which was last updated in July last year.