ISLE OF Wight Council Trading Standards officers have repeated warnings to Islanders to be on their guard against a number of scams currently circulating.
Two particular scams are currently doing the rounds. One is a fraudulent email purporting to be from a bank or building society that requests financial details. Another is a postal scam whereby residents are told to telephone a number to discover details of a parcel that has apparently been sent to them.
The trick is that no parcel has been sent and the telephone number is charged at a premium rate.
Though there has been national and local publicity warning against both these scams, some people may still be falling foul.
Richard Stone, IW Council, trading standards manager said: “You should never give personal details in an email request for information. Despite the banks constantly putting out that message and it being emphasised at local level, some people are still falling foul.
“The current postal scam is also not a new one and again it has attracted national and local publicity.
“As it originates outside the UK and Europe there is nothing that can be done to stop these notifications being delivered to local addresses. The scam has recently received much national publicity. From a national point of view, the Office of Fair Trading in London investigates these types of scam, but they are very difficult to stamp out and often reappear in a different guise.
“Our advice is that people should never phone a premium rate line unless they are certain they know who they are calling and the cost of the call. Legitimate parcel carriers do not use premium rate lines.”
