Warwickshire Trading Standards has recently been made aware of some phishing scams which seek to exploit people's good nature to steal money. The latest is an email which purports to come from the 'Rev. David Lacy'. He claims to be stuck in Madrid having had his wallet stolen and only needs you to lend him 2000 EUR in order that he can get home safely!
Such emails prey on the vulnerable and should be deleted immediately on receipt.
28/02/2012 Beauty and Health Product Scam
Warwickshire Trading Standards Service is warning consumers to beware of ‘free’ sample offers for face creams, detox pills and other beauty and health products advertised on social networking and other Internet sites after receiving complaints. Trading Standards Officers are particularly concerned that social media users are sharing these offers and people are signing up without thinking because they trust recommendations from ‘friends’ when they might be more wary otherwise.
The offers are also often mixed in with genuine promotions from well established businesses, making it harder for consumers to distinguish the good from the bad and down right ugly! Consumers are registering their debit or credit cards with these beauty product businesses, believing that the only cost to them is a few pounds for postage and packing.
However, many people are not reading the offer small print and do not realise that they have in fact signed up to an expensive monthly subscription! This only becomes apparent to them when they receive more of the product and are charged over £70 a month.
Be extremely wary of signing up to any ‘free’ offers on the Internet, especially when you are asked to share bank account or credit card
details. Make sure you trust the company fully before going ahead.
28/02/2012 Business Invoice Scam
Businesses are warned to check the invoices they receive for payment after a retired businessman man received a request for
payment for £321.84. The invoice appeared to suggest the retired individual's business (which was no longer trading) had an existing
account and warned that if payment was not received 'services would be cancelled'. On closer reading of the document it would appear
that the invoice was in fact a demand for payment to appear on business web directory. The retired individual's business had no
pre-existing agreement with those who sent the invoices.
Warwickshire Trading Standards are concerned that some larger businesses may pay the invoice without realising they don't actually
take the service in question. Details of the scam have been passed to fraud investigators.
28/02/2012 BT Calling Scam
Consumers are warned to beware of bogus calls from people falsely claiming to represent BT. One Warwickshire resident had an unexpected call from someone who claimed he was calling tell the consumer that his PC had been hacked. The consumer allowed the caller to take control of his PC who then demanded a payment of £49.99. Warwickshire Trading Standards advise consumers to never grant access to your computer to anyone who phones you unexpectedly.
- Please feel free to cascade this information to whom ever you feel appropriate (including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.).
- If you have any information you wish to provide to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, either for our information, or to appear in future email alerts, please email me.
Senior Information Officer
Trading Standards Service
Communities
Warwickshire County Council
tel. 01926 414039
mob. 07771 975570
email. simoncripwell@warwickshire.gov.uk
web. www.warwickshire.gov.uk
My normal working days are Monday to Thursday
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