@WAR - Warwickshire Trading Standards alerts

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03/06/2016 Try this ‘socket calculator’ 02/06/2016 HMRC scam calls

03/06/2016 Try this ‘socket calculator’ By Simon Cripwell on Jun 03, 2016 02:33 pm Most people have extension leads in their homes, using 4-way bar adaptors to increase the number of appliances that they can plug into a wall socket. However, although there is space to plug in four appliances, this does not mean it is always safe to do so. You can avoid overloading sockets and risk of fire by following this simple advice and use the interactive overloaded socket tool from Electrical Safety First Read in browser » 02/06/2016 HMRC scam calls By Simon Cripwell on Jun 02, 2016 01:36 pm Residents are warned to beware of phone calls from fraudsters claiming to be from the HMRC. Trading Standards has received more reports of local residents receiving recorded messages asking them to phone back to 'resolve an urgent matter'. These bogus HMRC callers are also suspected of threatening residents with arrest or prosecution! In reality, the fraudsters really want to obtain your personal and banking details. NEVER provide any information to cold callers. ALWAYS put the phone down. Read in browser »   Recent Articles: 26/05/2016 Beware of bogus email scams 25/05/2016 Rogue trader ‘neighbour complaint’ warning Mancetter 24/05/2016 Rugby Police and Trading Standards illegal tobacco seizures 23/05/2016 Buying a used car? It’s now easier than ever to ‘check before you buy’ with free web tools 23/05/2016 Small business money laundering scam 23/05/2016 Do you really know how banking malware works? 23/05/2016 NHW alert Nuneaton and Bedworth Argos related scam! 26/05/2016 Beware of bogus email scams By Simon Cripwell on May 26, 2016 09:50 am Warwickshire Trading Standards has been alerted to an email phishing scam. The bogus Amazon email is entitled: Subject: Important : Account Identity and Usage Confirmation The bogus email (addressed to 'customer' - they don't know your real name), asks recipient to visit a fake Amazon webpage and sign in to their account. The email threatens the recipient that their account will be disabled if they don't respond. NEVER respond to bogus emails or click on any links they might contain. If you wish to visit the account of any on-line store you use, please type the stores web address in to your browser. Read in browser » 25/05/2016 Rogue trader ‘neighbour complaint’ warning Mancetter By Simon Cripwell on May 25, 2016 09:05 am Warwickshire Trading Standards has been made aware of rogue traders operating in the Mancetter area. Yesterday (24th May) a man described as 'big', dressed in builder clothing and driving a small white van, door-knocked the home of an elderly lady living in the Mancetter area. The man claimed that there had been complaints about the lady's fence from her neighbours and asked for access to her back garden. Having gained access he then stated that he would repair the fence for £300 cash. The home owner said she did not have that kind of money in cash and offered to pay by cheque, but he refused. The rogue trader then went on to put further pressure on the householder by claiming that his mate had already started to mix cement. The rogue trader eventually left empty handed. NEVER  buy goods or services from an unexpected doorstep trader or allow them access to your property. If in doubt, keep your door closed. Read in browser » 24/05/2016 Rugby Police and Trading Standards illegal tobacco seizures By Simon Cripwell on May 24, 2016 11:31 am Warwickshire Trading Standards and Warwickshire Police, using trained sniffer dogs, yesterday took part in an operation to seize  illegal tobacco, cash and weapons from vehicles and shops in the Rugby area. Warwickshire Trading Standards , working in partnership with Warwickshire Police to protect the health of residents and support legitimate businesses. Read in browser » 23/05/2016 Buying a used car? It’s now easier than ever to ‘check before you buy’ with free web tools By Simon Cripwell on May 23, 2016 02:12 pm Thinking about buying a used car? Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards are advising that free information is now available on the internet which makes it much easier to check the history of a second hand vehicle before you buy. Read in browser » 23/05/2016 Small business money laundering scam By Simon Cripwell on May 23, 2016 11:02 am Small businesses should be on the lookout for a new type of scam which involves overseas “investors” tricking victims into laundering money, warns the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau’s (NFIB) Proactive Intelligence Team. The scam starts with an email/phone call from fraudsters overseas who claim they are interested in “investing” in new start-up companies within the UK. The fraudsters build trust and over time convince victims that the money they are transferring into their business accounts is for “investments”. The fraudsters know the limits that will be flagged by each bank and only transfer small amounts at a time to avoid detection. These investments are in fact a vehicle to launder the proceeds of crime into the UK from other scams, including money lost from victims of on-line dating fraud. Small Engineering Company Money laundering is a crime and business owners can be jailed. The NFIB team recently interviewed a former convicted businesses owner who said: “I don’t know why I was a target. I had a small engineering company which I was trying to get off the ground. The first contact I had was by email from an investment company in the Middle East”. “They said that they wanted to invest some capital into my company and they had other business interests in the UK. They only transferred a few thousand pounds at a time so the bank never questioned it.” Another convicted fraudster who owned a small sales and distribution company said: “Turns out I was just a middle man for a fraud. I think any small cash businesses are at risk.” Be extremely cautious about unsolicited emails or messages from people offering to invest in your business. Do not share your financial details with anyone you don’t know and trust, particularly if it’s someone that first contacted you via an unsolicited message. Carry out thorough research on the potential investor before you accept any money. Check to see whether the company is properly registered as a business in the country they operate in. For example, all UK PLC,LTD and LLP businesses are registered with Companies House. If you have been, or suspect you may have been a victim of this scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040. Read in browser » 23/05/2016 Do you really know how banking malware works? By Simon Cripwell on May 23, 2016 10:55 am Read in browser » 23/05/2016 NHW alert Nuneaton and Bedworth Argos related scam! By Simon Cripwell on May 23, 2016 09:03 am NHW Nuneaton reported that an elderly lady had a parcel delivered to her from Argos, which she was not expecting. Shortly after another caller said it had been delivered to her by mistake and asked for it back. She handed the parcel over to a male described as 6ft tall and black. This was reported to the police and turned out to be a scam. The offender had set up an Argos card using a false name and ordered a computer to be delivered to the lady concerned. Argos did not get paid and the offender got away with the goods. If this happens to you, please do not give a caller the parcel, but contact the sender. Read in browser »   Recent Articles: 20/05/2016 Be aware door to door jet washing – Alcester 19/05/2016 New Tick Box scheme launched to tackle hidden illegal goods 17/05/2016 Bogus council callers 13/05/2016 Scam HMRC threatening phone call warning Do you have information on a gang of rogue traders that targeted Nuneaton?