Halton Borough Council has issued a warning after a resident received a scam email (attached) claiming to be a payment confirmation for their child’s school fees.
The recipient knew that it was a scam because she doesn’t have any children at private school.
On this occasion the scammers have decided to say that the payment confirmation relates to school fees but scammers will use the same techniques claiming that the payment confirmation is about payments to other organisations.
If you receive any email with a payment confirmation attached, read it very carefully and if you’re not sure it’s about a payment you’ve made, check your bank statement before opening the email.
Halton Borough Council’s Executive Board Member for Trading Standards, Cllr Dave Cargill, said: “Scammers will send thousands of emails at a time and they only need a relatively small number of people to respond to make it worth their while.
“The chances are that some people who receive this email will have a child at private school and may click on the link without reading the email properly.
“It’s likely that the link contains ransomware or spyware that will be downloaded to your computer to either freeze your computer (you’ll be asked to pay a ransom to have the malware removed) or steal your personal information.”
If you or somebody you know has been caught out by a scam 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 03454 04 05 06. If you receive this email delete it without opening and without clicking on any links.