DORSET Council has issued a warning after thousands of scam emails were sent to residents claiming to be from the authority.

The council said that it believes the emails, which were sent out on Friday, June 24, 'appear genuine' but are in fact fraudsters who have 'spoofed' a Dorset Council email and direct victims to phishing website which attempts to get people to disclose private and person information.

Anyone who has received the email has been advised to not click any links within the message and to delete it immediately.

A spokesman for Dorset Council said: "Beware of emails claiming to be from Dorset Council ‘Accounts Received’, with a link to an invoice. This is a scam email and is NOT from Dorset Council.

"Do not open the email and do not click on any links in the email. Delete the email immediately.

"We believe that fraudsters have spoofed a Dorset Council email to make it appear genuine and have sent out several thousand emails on Friday 24 June. This is a scam email with a hyperlink which directs you to a phishing website. This is designed to trick you into disclosing personal information such as passwords.

"Anybody who thinks they may have been affected by this and has disclosed personal details is strongly advised to change their passwords immediately."