North Hertfordshire District Council officers have urged web users to look out for fraudulent emails claiming to come from the authority.

With a ‘memorandum of sale’ document attached, the emails claim to be regarding a property in the area which has purportedly been sold.

The district council said in a statement: “The message states that a property has been sold subject to contract, and that ‘a copy of the Memorandum of Sale, together with a copy of the sales particulars’ is attached to the email.

“It goes on to ask the recipient to ‘arrange for a Draft Contract to be sent to the buyer’s solicitors.’

“The message signs off with ‘Yours sincerely, Customer Service, North Hertfordshire District Council.’”

NHDC has urged recipients of the fraudulent email to delete it if received, but also to remain wary of any emails whose origin they cannot verify. The district council also advised backing up anti-virus software.