A FRESH appeal for vigilance has been made after a near-miss with online scammers in north Cumbria.

Members of a north Cumbrian parish council were targeted by online fraudsters, who attempted to scam hundreds of pounds worth of gift vouchers from councillors.

The chairperson of the parish council, who did not wish to be named, explained the near-miss with online scammers, which took place on Monday.

“All my councillors received an email to their parish council emails, purporting to come from me - but not on any of my genuine emails.”

The email requested that each parish councillor purchase £300 worth of iTunes online music gift vouchers, then send the gift card reference numbers to the fake email address pretending to be the parish council chairperson.

“One of them actually was going to do it before realising it was a scam,” the chairperson added.

“The councillor who almost responded has reported it.”

Police are particularly keen at present to remind residents in Cumbria of the risks posed by fraudsters both online and in person - as some may take advantage of the current coronavirus outbreak to engineer a scam.

Some online scams attempting to exploit the outbreak may include emails falsely informing people they are eligible for tax rebates, or maps that falsely depict the spread of Covid-19 that when clicked on download computer viruses.

Detective Constable Jon Hill, of Cumbria Constabulary’s Cyber and Digital Crime Unit, said: “The public obviously has a thirst for information in these difficult times.

“People are at home and they may go looking for information online about Covid-19.

“The problem comes if they start clicking on unreliable web pages or opening links and attachments often sent by email - a common form of scam called ‘phishing’.

“We need people to follow and rely on only trusted sources of information and be aware of all suspect emails with supposed information on Covid-19.”

DC Hill added that anyone who receives suspicious emails should not open any links or attachments, and delete the emails immediately.

With a large number of people turning to online shopping for groceries during the coronavirus lockdown, Cumbria Police have also warned vigilance surrounding purchases made on the internet.

The constabulary’s advice is to carry out research first on any unfamiliar vendor, and to ask a friend or family member for advice before completing the purchase.

Also, credit cards should be used where possible when making online purchases, as most major credit card providers insure purchases made online.