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England council warns of phishing campaign

A council in England has issued a warning to residents to watch out for a phishing email campaign that could leave their bank accounts emptied of their contents, it has emerged.

Dorset County Council's trading standards service has warned its residents to be wary of scam emails claiming to be from a bank with instructions on 'errors' that need updating, reports the Daily Echo.

According to the council, awareness was the best way to beat the cyber crooks hence the warnings to residents to avoid responding to the messages.

"With all the current troubles within the banking industry, people may be tempted to respond to one of these emails believing it to be genuine, but they are not," warned divisional trading standards manager Paul Carter.

"If you receive one of these emails delete it, or if you have responded, then contact your bank immediately. Unfortunately these emails originate overseas, making enforcement action all but impossible."

The news comes in the wake of revelations from the Association for Payment Clearing Services that online banking fraud through such phishing scams has risen by 185 per cent.

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