A warning has been issued following reports of a ‘convincing’ scam involving criminals targeting licensed premises.
Scammers have been posing as a council officials and asking licensors to pay money to renew their permissions.
The City of Lincoln Council has warned that anyone who receives a call regarding licence payments should be wary and stop and think before handing over any personal details or making any payments.
Ben Jackson, the council’s public protection and licensing manager, said: “Some businesses are struggling as it is, so for them to be targeted and to lose money makes the scam even worse.”
The council was alerted to multiple incidents across Lincolnshire after receiving reports from individuals who had fallen victim to the scam.
However, Mr Jackson is still unsure of how fraudsters managed to steal the victims’ personal information.
Explaining that he thought the scheme was “quite creative”, the council member warned that people should exercise caution and “end the call straight away”.
“If you are ever unsure, please report any suspicious behaviour to the relevant organisation,” he emphasised.
A spokesman for the council reiterated that they would never ask for licence fee payments on the phone, and that payment notices are always sent using an official invoice and subsequent written reminders.
The only scenario in which officials may need to speak with a licence holder on the phone are when they may have changed the address of their premises but not notified the council.
However, in this situation the payment would still never be requested or taken on a call.
Have you been caught out by an impersonation scam? You can find out how to identify these scams and how to protect yourself on our website here.
Have you lost money to a scam? Contact National Fraud Helpline. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.