Shropshire councillors targeted in email phishing scam

The messages have been sent from a Gmail account with a non-specific address name but naming the chairman in the subject line and inviting recipients to make a purchase.

Hollinswood and Randlay Parish Council chairman Sheenagh Unwin described it as a “begging” email, and councillor Tom Wust said, while it was easy for him and his colleagues to recognise it as a fake, he was concerned members of the public might be targeted and taken in.

Members heard similar emails have been sent to members of some other parish councils, and parish clerk Katrina Baker said the incident underlined the importance of keeping official and personal accounts separate.

Councillor Greg Sinclair, who is also a member of neighbouring Stirchley and Brookside Parish Council, said it had happened there, and Councillor Sally Snell and Ms Baker confirmed incidents at other parishes.

Councillor Sinclair said: “When you look at the sender’s email address it’s a Gmail account.

“It’s very easy to recognise that it’s nobody we know.

“If we get anything like that, just look at the sender and make a decision.”

Concerned

Councillor Wust said: “I’m concerned about other members of the public receiving this email.

“I don’t know of any members of the public receiving emails pretending to be you, but it’s still a concern to me that it might happen.”

Councillor Harvey Unwin corrected some of his colleagues who described the incident as a “hack”.

“No-one’s been into your account,” he said.

“It’s just they know what your address is, and they’re using it.”

He pointed out that councillors’ email addresses are publicly available for constituents, but this also means they are available to spammers and would-be phishers.

Ms Baker said risk of phishing was “the reason why we asked you to have specific parish council email addresses”.

She said: “It’s not combining with your personal usage, so there’s no chance of them picking up your personal information.”