Residents warned over scammers posing as council housing repairs team
Residents have been warned of a scam by bogus callers pretending to be from the council.
Dudley Council’s scams unit has received numerous calls from concerned residents who have been targeted over the phone.
The scammers claim to be from the council’s housing repairs team before offering to book in a housing repairs.
But before they can book it in, they claim they need to take either some personal details or a rent payment in advance in some cases.
Councillor Nicolas Barlow, cabinet member for health and adult social care, said: "We’ve seen scams like this before and I would urge residents and our tenants to remain vigilant.
"If you have a reason to believe a call could be suspicious, don’t share information or think twice about hanging up the phone and reporting this to our scams unit.
"Scammers change their tactics all the time, so we have to adapt and respond as best we can. I can assure people our scams unit will continue to fight financial crime in our borough."
Dudley council has stressed this is a scam and the housing repairs team would never ask for a payment or personal information such as bank details.
People should hang up immediately if they are suspicious and report the call to the scams unit.
Councillor Laura Taylor-Childs, cabinet member for housing and community services, said: "Council tenants can book repairs through our website or by calling the repairs centre and this is how most of our work in homes is arranged.
"There are occasionally times when we will need to carry our improvement works that have not been requested by tenants, but we will always contact them by telephone or letter to confirm when this will take pace.
"Dudley Council will not require payment for any repair or alteration works that are carried out.
"If you receive a call where someone is acting suspicious and you feel this could be a risk, please report this to our repairs centre on 0300 555 8283."
