A GANG of criminals is currently targetting people in Redditch.

A number of unsolicited emails, telephone calls and door-to-door fraudsters falsely claiming to be bank officials, council officials or government-backed debt advice services, have been reported to Redditch Council's community safety team in the past few weeks.

A spokesman from the council said: "Any calls or emails claiming to be from the local council and offering a tax rebate, in which they ask for personal banking details, will be fraudulent.

"Many of these frauds are run by organised criminals working overseas who want to steal from bank accounts.

"Often these criminals do not know if the email addresses being used are real or relevant to the area so by not responding and deleting it straight away you reduce your risk of being targeted in the future.

"Door-to-door callers offering driveway improvements or tree cutting services that claim they are ‘council approved’ contractors are also misleading customers. Councils do not endorse contractors."

They added: "The council will never cold call at properties. Any visits by any of our departments will be pre-booked with residents, the officer will have proof of ID and will be happy for you to double check they are who they say by calling us on 01527 64252."

Councillor Gareth Prosser, whose portfolio covers community safety, said: “These criminals are the lowest of the low for targeting the most vulnerable and trusting members of our society.

"If you’re worried about a neighbour, friend or family member, I would encourage you to sign them up to the Nominated Neighbour scheme and make them wary of any suspicious or unexpected emails, phone calls or visitors.”

The Nominated Neighbour scheme involves any cold callers being directed to a nominated, trusted neighbour who will check the identity of the caller and return to the neighbours address with them if they are a genuine caller.

For more information or to report potential scammers, go to actionfraud.police.uk or call 01527 881472 or email communitysafety@bromsgrove.gov.uk.