A reminder to Carmarthenshire residents who have fallen behind on their council tax payments has been issued via text message on behalf of Carmarthenshire County Council.

The text message, which residents should receive from ‘Carms CC’, includes the following text: ‘Dear (name), you currently have an outstanding matter with Carmarthenshire County Council. For details visit (Carmarthenshire.gov.wales website link). Please do not ignore this message.’

While this message is genuine and has been sent on behalf on Carmarthenshire County Council, residents should be aware that there are also scams circulating which claim to be from the County Council regarding council tax accounts being in credit or unpaid council tax balances.

If an email does not come from an official @carmarthenshire.gov.uk email address or links to a Carmarthenshire.gov.uk webpage, it is very likely a scam. Please avoid clicking on any links or downloading attachments from suspicious or unknown emails. Instead, forward any suspected scam emails to [email protected]. This is a reporting service run by the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

For any concerns regarding council tax accounts, please contact Carmarthenshire County Council via email [email protected] or call 01267 234567.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Resources, Cllr Alun Lenny, said: “This service can prevent statutory recovery notices such as council tax reminders being issued, may help residents to avoid paying expensive costs and helps to prevent residents falling into further arrears.

“I would also encourage residents to be scam aware and to contact Carmarthenshire County Council’s council tax team if they are unsure of any communication they receive.”