Fake 5G survey posters appear around Wolverhampton claiming to be from the council

The posters use the Wolverhampton Council logo and ask people if they live near a 5G mast and have suffered from any one of dozens of supposed "symptoms".

Wolverhampton Council has assured residents these posters are not official and have urged anyone who sees one to report it so it can be removed.

A spokesman for Wolverhampton Council said: "Residents are being asked to report fake and misleading 5G survey posters - illegally using a council logo - so they can be taken down.

"If you see one, please either email customer.services@wolverhampton.gov.uk or call customer services on 01902 551155.

"There is no quality peer-reviewed evidence of any association between 5G and harmful health.

"Globally, there is a regular review of the evidence base around the risk of telecommunications.

"As part of the Digital Wolverhampton Strategy, the council regularly checks this with the national responsible agency, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)."

People are at risk of sharing private and sensitive information into a survey, without knowing who is behind the survey and who is receiving the information.

Gregary Burnsen-Hicks, senior officer at Wolverhampton Youth Council, said: "The posters are deliberately trying to convince residents by illegally using a city council logo which is also not the current up to date council logo used by the council.

"I can't exactly get my head around why anyone would go to so much trouble to write, print, laminate, distribute and post these fake and misleading posters around Wolverhampton, create a survey and then link it to a QR code.

"It does feel a sign of suspicious activity as I'm trying to think about what they are trying to achieve from doing this because what they are trying to achieve from this is not made clear on the poster and that they could be setting out to potentially steal bank details from residents or to collect personal and sensitive information/data that could possibly be sold.

"I urge residents to think twice about the reliability of any posters in the street pretending to be from the council as I don't believe this is a usual way the council would professionally communicate with residents in Wolverhampton.

"I saw this poster on a broadband cabinet outside a secondary school and that the posters have been posted in areas such as near schools, medical surgeries and near bus stops.

"I also urge for any residents to not input any bank details in surveys to help protect yourself from any potential fraud.

"I also read a comment on Wolverhampton Today's Facebook where a resident said there are too many of these posters by schools and houses."