Allerdale council has warned its customers about a phishing scam attempting to harvest financial details.

The council said it had been contacted by a number of customers who received an email purportedly from the tax office which suggested they were due a council tax refund.

The email, from an @tax.com address, contained a link which when clicked opened a website asking for postcode details and bank information.

The council stressed that people should not open the email, which is believed to be a phishing scam attempting to harvest financial details, and should instead delete it.

Konrad Hansen, executive member with responsibility for customer services, said: “Unfortunately, it looks like this is a phishing exercise by someone trying to get hold of people’s financial details.

"I’d like to thank the customers who have contacted us already about this and would recommend anyone who receives an email like this, or similar, to just delete it.”