Warning after emails claiming to be from Saltney Town council officials used for ‘spear phishing’ email scam

The Deputy Mayor of Saltney is warning local residents about a scam where a person pretending to be an official or councillor from Saltney Town Council requests purchases of Giftcards.

The scam – which sees the names of genuine councillors being exploited to gain the trust of those who are the target of scammers – surfaced in Wrexham last week and has been reported elsewhere in Wales.

In late August Constable Gareth Jordan from the Cyber Crime Unit at Dyfed Powys Police HQ, Carmarthen contacted local councillors in that area saying: “We have been having a number of calls stating councillors are emailing constituents asking for Gift Cards to be purchased.”

“This is a scam, but some people are likely to believe it.”

The email is usually from a fake but possibly believable address, and the ‘spear phishing’ element of the scam targets a specific individual or organisation with some believable communication rather than general emails to hundreds or thousands of people.

One example of the type of message has been provided below, where gift cards or similar are requested from the recipient :

Aled Roberts, Independent councillor for Saltney Stonebridge Ward and Deputy Mayor said the town council has taken the necessary steps to advise councillors and has asked residents to forward any suspicious emails to the National Cyber Security Centre report@phishing.gov.uk.

“A Saltney Town Councillor will never ask residents to procure vouchers from Amazon, iTunes or any other retail sites on their behalf.” He said.

You can also report any incidents to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.