Burnley Council has issued a warning after a scam text message has been circulating.

A council spokesperson said a scam text message leads to a replica payment page, asking people to pay a non-existent parking fine.

The council said it does not send texts or emails to collect unpaid parking fines.

Action Fraud says any suspicious text messages can be reported to them, free of charge.

A spokesperson for Burnley Council said: “A scam text message about parking fines is circulating and leads to a replica payment page.

“This is a scam and Burnley Council does not send text messages or emails to collect any unpaid parking fines.”

A spokesperson for Action Fraud said: “Cyber criminals use fake messages as bait to lure you into clicking on the links within their scam email or text message or to give away sensitive information, such as bank details.

“These messages may look like the real thing but are malicious. Once clicked, you may be sent to a dodgy website that could download viruses onto your computer or steal your passwords.

“If you think you may have been the victim of fraud or cybercrime and incurred a financial loss or have been hacked as a result of responding to a phishing message, you should report this to Action Fraud

“Suspicious text messages should be forwarded to 7726. This free-of-charge short code enables your provider to investigate the origin of the text and take action, if found to be malicious.”