Residents are being warned to be on their guard against scammers cold calling them with fake offers of a Council Tax rebate.
Worcester City, Malvern Hills District and Wychavon councils have all received reports from residents who have been targeted in this way in recent days.
The scammer claims to be from the finance department of the council and asks the person to confirm their date of birth and then gives a reference number, before explaining the call is being recorded for training and monitoring purposes.
They then claim to have checked the person's details and found they have overpaid Council Tax and are owed money, but unfortunately due to a system error they cannot transfer the money over and need their debit or credit card details to make the payment.
A spokesman for Malvern Hills District, Worcester City and Wychavon councils, said: "We would urge residents who receive a call like this to put the phone down and report it immediately to Action Fraud on or call 0300 123 20.
"Nobody from any of the three South Worcestershire Councils would ever call you out of the blue to discuss an issue with your Council Tax and we would never ask you over the phone for your debit or credit card details if we did owe you a refund.
"If you believe your Council Tax is incorrect then you can find out how to challenge it at www.gov.uk/challenge-council-tax-band"
