Urgent warning over council tax rebate scam in Portsmouth conning people out of hundreds of pounds
THE News’s consumer champion Richard Thomson is warning readers to beware scam emails wrongly telling people to click a link to sign up for both a council tax rebate and an energy bill discount.
The email, which is branded with the energy regulator's logo, tells recipients they can claim an energy bill discount worth £200 and a non-repayable council tax rebate of £250.
It encourages people to click a link, which directs them to a fake Ofgem-branded website where they’re asked to enter their personal details and set-up a direct debit to receive the council tax rebate.
But Ofgem has confirmed that the email and the website are both scams.
A spokesman for Ofgem said: ‘We take these attempts to exploit consumers very seriously and we’ve already reported this malicious incident to the National Cyber Security Centre which will investigate further.
‘We've also reported the bogus email and website to the National Cyber Security Centre and the Public Domain Registry in the hope that it'll be taken offline to prevent people from being caught out.’
The official rebate scheme was announced by the government.
Households are eligible where, on 1 April 2022, they are liable for council tax on a property which is in council tax bands A-D and which they live in as their main home.
This includes those who receive local council tax support, even if their council tax bill for the year is less than £150.
Rebates can be applied for on local council websites.
Claims for the rebate can be processed up until September 30.