Missleading website - Crafty or should be closed down?

[UKSBD]

Not going to post a link but have a look at parish .uk

Should they be allowed to get away with that?

 

[Newchodge]

Not going to post a link but have a look at parish .uk

Should they be allowed to get away with that?

What do you think is wrong with it?

 

[KM-Tiger]

I can't see an actual scam, but clearly a rip off of the look and feel of gov.uk.

 

[Nico Albrecht]

Should they be allowed to get away with that?

What is wrong ?

 

[UKSBD]

What do you think is wrong with it?

It's obviously trying to give the impression it is part of .gov.uk

Even the disclaimer at the bottom gives the impression it is some kind of official community initiative

 

[HFE Signs]

I can't see anything wrong with it myself, it looks quite official but I wouldn't assume it's part of .gov

What do you think they are getting away with?

 

[Mark T Jones]

It's hard to see who the 'victims' are, since it doesn't appear to be monetised in any way.

I may have missed it - if there is a money angle, that might be the answer

 

[Scalloway]

It seems to be an offshoot of the Local Government Association (LGA)

Who we are and what we do

The LGA is the national voice of local government, working with councils to support, promote and improve local government.

www.local.gov.uk

 

[Gecko001]

They have pages where they invite you to "register as a resident" of a parish. When you click on the HMRC-like green button you go to a page where you are asked to submit your email address. The few articles they have are signed "Staff Writer".

It looks like a student project.

 

[UKSBD]

They have pages where they invite you to "register as a resident" of a parish. When you click on the HMRC-like green button you go to a page where you are asked to submit your email address. The few articles they have are signed "Staff Writer".

It looks like a student project.

It's far to good for that.
The way they are obtaining and using data is very good.

The way they don't provide any information about who they actually are is terrible

Appears to be run by a guy called Alastair Gordon

If it's not legit it's frightening, if it is, why are they not making it clear who runs it?

 

[UKSBD]

It seems to be an offshoot of the Local Government Association (LGA)

Who we are and what we do

The LGA is the national voice of local government, working with councils to support, promote and improve local government.

www.local.gov.uk

Why, because they say they are and link to that site?

 

[UKSBD]

It appears they are sending out emails to all parish councillors and asking them to sign up

If our local parish councillor received the mailshot and followed the link I'm pretty sure they would think it is an official site.

If a parish councillor does sign up it opens it up even more

Truly is massive securioty issue if not a legit official site

 

[thetiger2015]

It appears they are sending out emails to all parish councillors and asking them to sign up

If our local parish councillor received the mailshot and followed the link I'm pretty sure they would think it is an official site.

If a parish councillor does sign up it opens it up even more

Truly is massive securioty issue if not a legit official site

Would scammers know what a parish council is?

Seems more like it's an official website but just done really badly, which is probably why it is definitely an official website. They won't think of anything like GDPR etc. They don't know what that is.

 

[UKSBD]

What is wrong ?

Have you looked at it more since posting that?

It's as wrong as could be if not official and if people think it is.

 

[StevensOnln1]

I've had several emails from the over the last week asking me to renew my business listing (which I didn't submit). Clicking through to the form allows you to edit the listing details but requires payment to go any further.

 

[Newchodge]

Perhaps report it to the LGA?

 

[UKSBD]

I've had several emails from the over the last week asking me to renew my business listing (which I didn't submit). Clicking through to the form allows you to edit the listing details but requires payment to go any further.

Yeah, that's what drew my attention to it.


Have a look at this page

https://church-stretton.parish. uk

Everything about it looks like a .gov.uk website

Then it says "Welcome to the Church Stretton Town Council website" which it isn't

Then it tries to get people to register as a resident

Just who are you sending that info to if you register?

If this isn't an official website it's one of the best phishing systems I have seen.

It's a shame as it looks like a great system, why can't they be transparent as to who they are though?

 

[UKSBD]

I've had several emails from the over the last week asking me to renew my business listing (which I didn't submit). Clicking through to the form allows you to edit the listing details but requires payment to go any further.

They've obviously extracted the public data from elsewhere (Google Maps or similar) to seed their directory and now trying to charge people if they want to keep their listing.

Edit to add: Which would be fair enough if they let you know just who they are.

 

[MBE2017]

It certainly seems to be trying to take many elements from the UKGov website design.

 

[UKSBD]

It certainly seems to be trying to take many elements from the UKGov website design.

They say it is using a publicly-available .gov.uk design template

Edit to add: link to it here - https://design-system.service.gov.uk/

 

[japancool]

They appear to have no contact details.

 

[IanSuth]

Perhaps report it to the LGA?

Can't today, they and the ICO are on strike

 

[japancool]

Can't today, they and the ICO are on strike

If I were a civil servant, I would have gone on strike yesterday - the deadline for filing online tax returns.

 

[Mr D]

If I were a civil servant, I would have gone on strike yesterday - the deadline for filing online tax returns.

Would anyone have noticed?
Civil service has had loads of strikes over the years. Can't say I've ever noticed the lack of services.

 

[Deleted member 352941]

It says at the bottom
The PARISH.UK Network is a Community Action Initiative and does not form part of HM Government.

so check with them?
18 Smith Square, Westminster, London SW1P 3HZ
[email protected] 020 7664 3000

 

[UKSBD]

It says at the bottom
The PARISH.UK Network is a Community Action Initiative and does not form part of HM Government.

so check with them?
18 Smith Square, Westminster, London SW1P 3HZ
[email protected] 020 7664 3000

It says it is "a" Community Action Initiative not "a local gov" Community Action Initiative

No different to anyone putting a message on the bottom of their website saying, This is a Community Action Initiative

Another example of misleading, just by adding that line a couple of people here have assumed it means they are in some way connected with local .gov

Do you think they do that by accident?

 

[Deleted member 352941]

It says it is "a" Community Action Initiative not "a local gov" Community Action Initiative

No different to anyone putting a message on the bottom of their website saying, This is a Community Action Initiative

Another example of misleading, just by adding that line a couple of people here have assumed it means they are in some way connected with local .gov

Do you think they do that by accident?

All you have to do to allay your fears is ring the number and ask them, it will take considerably less time than posting here?

 

[UKSBD]

Ring who?

 

[DefinitelyMaybeUK]

Ring who?

Perhaps contact NALC:

Homepage

As the national body for parish and town councils, we support and promote these councils that are the heartbeat of their communities, delivering services and ensuring that local voices are heard. Join us in shaping the future and making a real difference.

www.nalc.gov.uk

and see what their take is? Personally I've no problem with people collating publicly available data (as long as it's kept up to date), but I must admit the forwarding (and potential interception) of contact messages to Clerks etc is below par.

 

[Deleted member 352941]

Ring who?

https://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/...or-should-be-closed-down.421360/#post-3180498 the phone number I added

 

[UKSBD]

But it says in the footer they are nothing to do with them.

What do I do, phone them up and say "A website says they have nothing to do with you, can you confirm this please"

 

[Newchodge]

But it says in the footer they are nothing to do with them.

What do I do, phone them up and say "A website says they have nothing to do with you, can you confirm this please"

They can warn their members about it.

 

[NickGrogan]

Government Digital Service

Government Digital Service has 1510 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

github.com

Looks the government is happy enough about people using the templates.

 

[UKSBD]

Government Digital Service

Government Digital Service has 1510 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

github.com

Looks the government is happy enough about people using the templates.

Yes it's available on a MIT licence

They say you can't imply that your service is related to GOV.UK, cant use GOV.UK's brand typeface and should adapt the header and footer though.

 

[UKSBD]

They can warn their members about it.

That was the point of the initial post really.

I'm trying to determine if people think anything needs doing and whether it is worth reporting to anyone.

General consensus here seems to be it's no big deal

 

[japancool]

If you're that concerned about it, report them to Trading Standards.

 

[paulears]

I've tried all sorts of things and it seems useful and genuine. I have not found anything on it that concerns me?

 

[UKSBD]

I've tried all sorts of things and it seems useful and genuine. I have not found anything on it that concerns me?

Did you go to your parish and register as a resident?

 

[paulears]

No - I can't as I don't live in a Parish - there is one about a mile away - mine is done by the district council - My office is in a parish though, maybe I could try that?

 

[paulears]

I've registered as a resident of Oulton parish, where my office is - nothing much happened?