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People across Sussex are being contacted and told they will be getting money from the council, however in order to get the funds back, they need to pay a small fee and also provide their credit or debit card details over the phone. Be aware of this, as it is a scam being run in the area and individuals should never give this information out the phone, and they would never need to pay a fee to the council for a refund.

What is occurring is that fraudsters are telling residents they are not in the correct tax band, and as a result, the household will be getting a maybe large sum of money as an overpayment from the government. But they need to pay a fee in order to get this refund. Most of the reports have been from Mid Sussex District, but it can be occurring in other parts of the county as well, as many people may be too embarrassed to report it.

The council states that if anyone ever calls and says a resident will get money back from an incorrect tax band if they pay a small fee, then this is a scam. No one from the government will ever do this, and people do not need to pay a fee to get an error fixed. No one from the council will ever request card numbers over the phone, yet sadly, some people are giving these fraudsters those details, and now they will be in further trouble.

There are many reports that the scam is targeting the elderly in the Sussex County area, and some vulnerable or older people have given their card details out. These individuals are often on a low income or government benefits, and can least afford to pay any fees or have their card number stolen. There are also many older people in the Mid Sussex district that are being targeted by the fraudsters.

What to do if contacted by the tax fraudsters

Anyone that has received these calls needs to contact the authorities right away. Call the Sussex Police and tell them what happened, or call or drop in at the Mid Sussex District Council office during the day to provide details on the scam if you are local to the area. Or dial call 101 to notify the authorities. The report should be done immediately so the police can try to catch these fraudsters.

Be aware that the council or no government official would ever ask for a credit card number, and people would never need to pay a fee if they were in the wrong tax band. Instead, if there was ever a mistake, the Mid Sussex Council will provide the money in the form of a cheque to the resident.