Scammers pretending to be Council targeting Aylesbury Vale Residents

There is a sophisticated phone scam operating in Aylesbury, with perpetrators claiming to be from Aylesbury Vale District Council.
Scammers pretending to be the Council are targeting Aylesbury Vale ResidentsScammers pretending to be the Council are targeting Aylesbury Vale Residents
Scammers pretending to be the Council are targeting Aylesbury Vale Residents

The call comes in from Aylesbury Vale District Council, claiming to be from their offices on Gatehouse Road.

They claim that the call recipient owes Council Tax

A resident who has been affected by the scam praised the perpetrators for their persistence.

They said: "The man kept me on the phone for 20 minutes. You have to admire that sort of persistence!

"It nearly lowered my defenses, they had answers to every question I had for them.

"I gave them my sort code - not something I'd normally do. It only got that far before I smelled a rat and hung up the phone."

This wasn't the end of it however.

"Within a minute a second call came in from Natwest's fraud team stating that an individual had had access to my account. Unfortunately my sort code identified me as a Natwest Customer.

"They carried on with some very persistent arguments but after initial suspicions were raised I decided to tell the person on the phone I was going in to the branch to discuss it with them."

The fraudsters, panicking said the branch was set to close in 20 minutes in an effort to keep them on the line.

The callers had claimed to be Natwest to glean more information, but fortunately this time the person who did not wish to be identified, hung up.

After going in to speak to Natwest, they said that this often happens and people should keep their eyes open.

Writing to their Facebook page, AVDC said: "A number of residents in the Vale have received calls claiming to be from AVDC saying that, due to a system error, they have a credit amount on their council tax bill. The caller then asks the resident for their bank account details, on the pretence that they will arrange for the credit amount to be transferred.

"These are scam calls. Please don't fall for them.

"If you have any concerns about calls or text messages that appear to have come from ourselves, please chat to us online: https://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/got-question-chat-us-onl…

"Additionally, if you believe you've received a scam call or text message related to your council tax bill, please call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 quoting Crime Reference Number: NFRC 19 03 02 85 78 57."