Trading Standards would like to share some more scams with you today
- We have received a report of a scam “Inheritance” letter. The letter states a person has died and left a will and the supposed solicitors are trying to find someone with the same surname to inherit. If you contact the sender they will undoubtedly request that you send money to release the funds. You will NEVER need to send money to release money – they can take any payments from your inheritance if it is genuine.
- The TV Licensing scam is doing the rounds again – if you are unsure if it is genuine contact TV Licensing independently – NEVER click on links in messages
- We have received reports of scam phone calls about condensation in homes. These are variations on common scam calls that will try to facilitate a visit from a “surveyor” who will undoubtedly find damp and then try to carry out unnecessary work on your property for thousands of pounds. DON’T engage with any call that purports to relate to this kind or trade – they will be SCAMS.
- A resident has reported a call purporting to be from a health service agency asking lots of questions about covid vaccines, health passports and other personal details. When the phone number was checked on Who called me? | United Kingdom’s Free Reverse Phone Lookup (who-called.co.uk) the feedback overwhelmingly indicates that the callers are scammers – DO NOT engage with these callers
- Reports of Scam calls purporting to be O2 stating that your sim would be blocked if you didn’t give them your details and they would deliver a new sim in a couple of days. DO NOT engage with these callers – this will be a phishing exercise to obtain personal information
- Don’t engage with calls purporting to be Amazon – they will be scammers who will try to take over your computer and have been known to take thousands of pounds from their victims. Amazon will NEVER contact you about a purchase. If you are at all concerned log into your Amazon account and check the activity that way
- Please be careful when responding to online adverts, either through pop ups or via Social Media, that are endorsed by celebrities. Scammers are using AI to created deep fakes of various celebrities endorsing different schemes or products. These will be SCAMS
- Residents are receiving phone calls from callers claiming to be checking up on customers who have previously had insulation work done. The caller will be very pushy, trying to make an appointment to come and do a survey or a thermal check on walls and attics! These will not be qualified inspectors, they will always “find a problem” and will charge you to resolve it. NEVER engage with anyone calling about this and NEVER allow them access to your property. If you are at all concerned about your home and insulation speak to somebody at the Footprint Trust who will be able to advise you
- Be wary of emails out of the blue from somebody you may know or may have known in the past – these will try to play on your natural curiosity, saying things like, sad news about…….. or heres some photos you might like to see. NEVER click on any links or attachments these will be scams
- Be wary of any callers trying to sell you care packages using emergency pendants. If you would like to speak to somebody about help do your own research and use a reliable and trustworthy company.
- It appears that scammers are impersonating the Isle of Wight Council, one caller has reported receiving a call and the scammer told her that she had overpaid her Council Tax and tried to get her bank details to carry out a refund. NEVER give out your bank details over the phone to a stranger that has called you – they wont be giving you a refund they will empty your bank account.
- Scam calls can come from local numbers too – one 01983 number claimed that the resident had had a payment taken by Amazon and then a further £1000 from her bank account. This could be very worrying but NEVER be tempted to respond to the instructions it is a SCAM
- ALWAYS be wary of cold callers – whatever they are trying to sell or buy – NEVER engage with a trader on the doorstep
If you do receive a scam call you can always check the number on the website Who Called Me. If other recipients have checked the number out and added feedback it may help confirm that a call is a scammer
Stay safe
