POLICE are investigating reports of a telephone scam offering Kirklees Council tax discounts.
Council officials have had reports of people being offered discounts if they give their personal details.
The council warned it was a scam.
The conmen are trying to encourage residents to give their personal and bank details over the phone by claiming they are owed a large council tax refund.
In a bid to convince victims to hand over their details, the scammers sometimes claim to be working for, or on behalf of the council.
Clr Shabir Pandor, Cabinet member for the Revenues and Benefits service, said: “The promise of extra cash at this time is obviously very enticing and these swindlers are preying on this fact.
“We encourage people not to give personal details to anyone whose identity cannot be checked”.
West Yorkshire Trading Standards receives hundreds of complaints each year of similar scams.
Chief Officer Graham Hebblethwaite said: “Unfortunately these types of scams are all too common.
“Scammers work on the belief that there will always be someone who falls victim, and are increasingly investing more effort to make their scams more believable.”
