A HALTON councillor who warns people about fraud was himself targeted by scammers.
Clr Dave Cargill, board member for trading standards, received a fake e-mail claiming he had made a PayPal payment to someone he did not know.
He immediately realised it was a bogus message and reported it to council officers.
A Halton Council spokesman said: “The links in this kind of scam will either download malware or ransomware to your computer or ask you to complete information about your PayPal account.
“If you receive an e-mail like this delete it without clicking on any links.”
Trading standard officers are now urging the public to be vigilant.
If you or someone you know has been caught out by a scam call 0151 5118785 or 0151 511 8775.
Specialist officers are already working with people across Halton who have lost thousands of pounds to scams.
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