Householders are warned to beware of cold callers offering disability aids and equipment. Warwickshire Trading Standards Service has received reports of elderly people agreeing to meetings in their homes with salespeople who have cold-called them on the telephone. In some cases these individuals have falsely claimed to be working for genuine businesses or claimed to be working for businesses that have, (unbeknown to the consumer), ceased trading. Some consumer have paid out thousands of pounds in cash for equipment that never arrives.
Warwickshire Trading Standards Service advises consumers to think twice before asking a sales representative to visit your home. Look for local businesses with verifiable trade premises and go on recommendation if possible. Paying with a credit card for goods worth over £100 gives you protection if the business goes bust and the goods do not arrive.
Consumers signing a contract in their home following an unsolicited visit have 7 days in which they can cancel.
For more information, please visit our website: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards
18/04/2011 American 'Green Card' Phishing Scam
Consumers are alerted to a scam email that falsely claims to have been sent by the US Government, inviting recipients to send $880 fees by Western Union transfer in return for entry to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
The program is genuine, the congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available up to 55,000 diversity visas (DVs) annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
However, the email is one of a number of scams which attempts to lure people, desperate for a US visa.
For more information, visit: http://www.state.gov/
- The email alert system is a quick, simple and cost effective means by which Warwickshire Trading Standards can alert interested individuals, community organisations, businesses, charities and others to the latest Trading Standards issues/scams etc.
- Please feel free to cascade this information to whom ever you feel appropriate (including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.). Please ignore the Restricted Notice on the bottom of this page - this is automatically generated but is not meant to apply to the information in this email.
- The email alert system is designed to work as a two way communications system. Therefore, 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.
- To add, amend or remove your details from this email circulation list, again, please email me.
- A list of all the latest email alerts is available on our website: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/latestscams
Simon Cripwell
Senior Information Officer
Trading Standards Service
Environment and Economy Directorate
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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