@WAR - Trading Standards Update

03/12/2015 The data cycle – how your information shared and sold! 03/12/2015 Trading Standards business news Winter 2015 03/12/2015 Mandate fraud warning to Warwickshire businesses 03/12/2015 Hoverboard safety warning 03/12/2015 Farmers warned of targeted fraud attacks 30/11/2015 Your Christmas shopping rights 30/11/2015 Why do I get unwanted phone calls? This video shows you why 30/11/2015 Dangerous dolls seized

03/12/2015 The data cycle – how your information shared and sold! By Simon Cripwell on Dec 03, 2015 12:18 pm The data cycle -- showing how one person's personal data can be used, passed on and re-used in ways that people may not expect. Gives advice about what to do to reduce nuisance calls. Watch Read in browser » 03/12/2015 Trading Standards business news Winter 2015 By Simon Cripwell on Dec 03, 2015 12:13 pm Trading Standards business news Winter 2015 In this issue: Festive food safety; Top tips for exporters and illicit alcohol Read in browser » 03/12/2015 Mandate fraud warning to Warwickshire businesses By Simon Cripwell on Dec 03, 2015 11:21 am Warwickshire businesses are warned to beware of mandate fraud. Mandate Fraud is also known as Creditor Fraud, Payment Diversion Fraud and Supplier Account Takeover Fraud. This fraud involves the changing of account details for supplier or customer accounts in order to gain control of an account and benefit from unauthorised payments. This could include changing of bank details in a direct debit, manipulation of credit card activity, or changing of an employee’s bank account details for their salary, particularly when a bonus is due. Changing bank accounts is an unusual occurrence and therefore any request to update records should be treated with suspicion. Changes should be authorised at a senior level. Fraudsters rely on the Payee (Company) name not being checked by the Banks. In most cases, only the Sort Code and Account Number are checked by the receiving bank. Additionally, company details, including signatures on published accounts, are copied from the internet. All companies and organisations are urged to ensure that they have robust authorisation and monitoring procedures in place for the creation and changing of bank details and monitoring of payments. This also applies when providing account details in order to set up new payments or amend them. More information Read in browser » 03/12/2015 Hoverboard safety warning By Simon Cripwell on Dec 03, 2015 09:52 am More than 17,000 self-balancing scooters – or ‘hoverboards’– have been examined at national entry points since 15 October due to safety concerns. Of these, over 15,000 (or 88%) have been assessed as unsafe and have been detained at the border. Officers at UK ports and borders have seen a huge spike in the number of these items arriving in recent weeks, destined to end up as gifts under the tree this Christmas. More information Advice to consumers and businesses: Never leave the device charging unattended – especially overnight: a faulty cut-off switch (designed to stop the battery from continuing to charge once fully charged) or a plug without a fuse, as seen in many products detained so far, could lead to the device overheating, exploding or catching fire. Check the device: things to look out for include the shape of the plug – the first unsafe products identified often had a clover-shaped plug. Also check the device for markings or traceable information, such as the name and contact details of the manufacturer and / or importer. If buying online, look closely at the website before you hit the ‘buy’ button: Try searching for reviews of the product or the seller – do these seem genuine? Are there lots of spelling or grammar mistakes on the site? This can be a clue that a business is not professionally run. See if you can find out where the company’s head office is based – and whether that fits with how the website presents itself. Do they have a landline number you can call if there are any problems? Bear in mind that if the company is based abroad, it can be more difficult to get a complaint dealt with or return a faulty product. Read the small print – notice if anything seems odd, repetitive or in incorrect English. Is there an ‘s’ at the end of the ‘http’ part of the web address, or is there a padlock symbol in the task bar? This means the website is using an encrypted system that keeps your details more secure. Don’t be dazzled by a bargain: Are the prices incredibly low? If they look too good to be true, they probably are – particularly if some of your other checks have put doubts in your mind. Be aware that criminals exploit high demand: When items like self-balancing scooters start to sell out at well-known retailers, the void is quickly filled by crooks churning out poor quality imitations that can put people in danger. Don’t ‘panic buy’ from the first website you find – do your usual common-sense checks. Report it: National Trading Standards needs your help to clamp down on unsafe products from abroad. If you believe that any online or face-to-face seller is selling potentially dangerous goods, or something you’ve bought has made you suspicious, report it to Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06. Buying online for onward sale online? If you do this you are assuming the legal responsibilities of a business to ensure that what you’re selling complies with product safety and intellectual property legislation. More information for importers Read in browser » 03/12/2015 Farmers warned of targeted fraud attacks By Simon Cripwell on Dec 03, 2015 09:42 am Farmers are being warned to be extremely wary of any suspicious calls, texts or emails as fraudsters specifically target the agricultural sector when EU grant payments begin to arrive in bank accounts month. More information Read in browser » 30/11/2015 Your Christmas shopping rights By Simon Cripwell on Nov 30, 2015 01:25 pm A useful guide to your Christmas shopping rights launched by Which? Read in browser » 30/11/2015 Why do I get unwanted phone calls? This video shows you why By Simon Cripwell on Nov 30, 2015 12:57 pm The data cycle showing how one person's personal data can be used, passed on and re-used in ways that people may not expect. The video also gives advice about what to do to reduce nuisance calls. Read in browser » 30/11/2015 Dangerous dolls seized By Simon Cripwell on Nov 30, 2015 12:21 pm Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service was able to seize over 60 fake and dangerous Maleficent dolls before they reached the shop shelves in time for Christmas. Read in browser »   Recent Articles: 27/11/2015 Local traders warned to beware of cold calls from bogus publishers 27/11/2015 Dyson service bogus engineers 27/11/2015 Loan scam warning 26/11/2015 Indesit and Hotpoint issue fire-risk warnings over tumble dryers 26/11/2015 Trading Standards offer help as Black Friday approaches