How to tell if a council tax or business rates message is genuine
We may contact you by phone, text message, email or letter to tell you that a payment is due or overdue, but our messages never ask for your bank details.
Genuine text messages from Walsall Council
If you use a banking app, you can use it to pay for your council tax or business rates arrears. You can see an example of a text message sent from this service below:
![This is a courtesy message from Walsall Council to advise you a payment is due in the next 7 days towards your council tax. Please make your selection below by clicking the word 'Select' from the various options to make payment or for further information. Please do not ignore this message.](/sites/default/files/2024-04/RCS%20message.jpg)
Genuine letters from our partners
We are working with Welfare Together and ReachOut to write to some of our customers.
![Logos for Welfare Together and ReachOut](/sites/default/files/2024-06/WT%20reachout.jpg)
How to identify a scam
A message or call is a scam if it:
- asks for card or bank details
- says that you are entitled to a refund or band reduction
- offers to write-off council tax arrears for a fee
You can find out more about how to identify council tax scams and what you can do to avoid them.
What to do if you're still not sure
If you have any doubt about a phone call, message or letter you've received, do not give out your personal details. Instead, you can: