Trading Standards are reporting a mix of old and new scams for residents to be aware of this week. Ed
“Inheritance” letter scam
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.
TV Licensing scam
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.
Condensation scam
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.
Health service agency scam
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 the feedback overwhelmingly indicates that the callers are scammers – DO NOT engage with these callers.
O2 scams
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
Amazon scams
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
Beware of online adverts
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.
