Scams and cons

Christmas 2010

Cons and scams happen all year, they are not just for Christmas. With a hundred and one things to do at Christmas we may be more susceptible and unwittingly become a victim.

Telephone scam, computers and mobiles

If you receive a telephone call from a company purporting to be from 'Windows Support Team' or 'Microsoft Support Team', be suspicious. They claim your home computer or laptop is running slowly or maybe experiencing problems due to hidden viruses. You will be asked to log on to a remote website which allegedly enables the representative to access their computer and work on it.  At this point, it will look like the seller is working on the computer, but in reality they will do nothing of significance.  They will ask for a fee via credit or debit card - this can be as much as £200.00.

A similar scam also operates for internet enabled mobile phones.

Never give your bank details or credit card details to any unsolicited seller over the telephone, no matter how authentic they sound. These calls often come from outside the UK, making it very difficult to get redress.

Fake vodka

An illegal factory has been discovered in the Manchester area producing counterfeit Smirnoff Vodka. 24,000 litres were seized by officers. Traders and consumers are warned only to buy alcohol from a reputable source. Be extremely wary of people offering for sale large amounts of alcohol which they are looking to offload quickly and cheaply. Previously counterfeit vodka has been sold in some shops in Buckinghamshire. This is problematic as the quality, chemical composition and hygiene of the vodka can not be relied upon. In some parts of the country, fake vodka has led to serious health problems and is known to have caused blindness. If you are concerned about dangerous counterfeits that can seriously damage your health contact Consumer Direct 08454 040506.

Car parking

When you choose to park your car in a retail car park you maybe parking on private land. In some cases customers have found themselves clamped by clamping firms and required to pay hundreds of pounds to have their car returned. This happens particularly around Christmas time when the public car parks are full and consumers park in a retail car park and then take the opportunity to pop to another shop. Read the terms and conditions displayed where you leave your vehicle. Trading Standards cannot intervene in these disputes, we have no powers.
Any individual engaged in clamping on private land must be licensed by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), and should carry an ID card with a unique identifying number.

For more information.

• British Parking Association 
• Citizens Advice Bureau - wheel clamping guide (PDF)
• Security Industry Authority 
  

We are not responsible for external websites. These links open in a new window)

Tickets

Festival and concerts tickets make excellent presents . If you are buying tickets online make sure you are buying from a bona fide website. The best way to avoid being scammed is to use official sites and agencies to buy tickets. Genuine websites have a list of official outlets for their tickets. They may also provide information of any scam websites or agencies they are aware of.

If you do take a risk and buy from an unofficial website make sure you check them out thoroughly:

• Where is their office based?
• Do they have a landline telephone number in this country?
• Are the address and telephone number details for the company are listed on the website  - be suspicious of PO box numbers
• Read the terms and conditions on the website carefully. This may be in very small text, but is very important.
• Run a web search on the site what do bloggers have to say about it? 
• Pay by credit card, if you are scammed you have a better chance of getting your money back from the credit card company
• Only make purchase from sites encrypted for payment. Look for the closed padlock and the web address in the browser should begin https://

If you do find yourself in difficulties Consumer Direct can help telephone 08454 040506 or visit the Consumer Direct website.

November 2010

Hajj fraud

Thousands of British Muslims are getting ready to travel to Mecca and make their own Hajj pilgrimage (Nov 14-17). It is believed hundreds may find their tour bookings were never made and fraudsters have stolen their money, destroying their dreams of what could have been a once-in-a-lifetime trip and leaving them stuck in the  UK or stranded in Saudi Arabia. 

The City of London police and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) is working with the Muslim community and the travel industry to raise awareness of Hajj fraud and to encourage victims of this crime to report to their local police force or to Action Fraud. 

Hajj fraud is a serious crime that continues to cause significant harm within the Muslim community.

Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca essential information about fraud (PDF)

October 2010

Beware - MCO Capital targeted by identity thieves

Victims of identity theft are still being asked to repay loans they didn't take out. Action Fraud has had over 100 calls in the past 24 hours from people worried sick by demands for money from MCO Capital.

It appears they are all victims of a gang of identity thieves who have taken out the loans using their details but who, naturally, haven't kept up repayments. Do not contact MCO Capital, contact Action Fraud.

In case anyone is tempted to bury their head in the sand over this, the advice from Action Fraud is "don't"
A spokeswoman said: "If people ignore letters about goods or services they haven't requested they could end up in debt, with bailiffs on their doorstep and a poor credit rating."

If you're a victim or if you need any more advice visit the Action Fraud website or call 0300 123 2040. Action Fraud will be able to take a crime reports, give you a crime reference number and then feed this into the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, part of the City of London Police. If you require further information contact Consumer Direct 08454 040506.

September 2010

Cold calling computer company

A Buckinghamshire consumer received a telephone called from a company claiming to be calling on behalf of Microsoft. They claimed they had been looking at Microsoft Servers and could see multiple red lights on her IP address indicating her PC was about to crash and she would lose data. They used scare mongering tactics to obtain money. 

Our advice:

• Do not deal with cold callers.
• Never give personal information over the telephone to cold callers.
• Never give passwords or credit cards and bank details over the telephone.

W & W Help Limited

Reports from South Bucks indicate this dissolved company is still leafleting the area requesting clothing and textiles for collection. The consumer thinks the advert is misleading, and feels people may think they are donating to the charity.

(from May 2009)

W&W Help Limited have distributed leaflets in South Bucks, requesting donations of old and unwanted clothes to help people in the third world. W&W Help Limited has been dissolved by Companies House on March 24th 2009, for failing to submit accounts.

Collections by commercial operators are perfectly legitimate providing they adhere to company and consumer protection rules. W&W Help Limited are in breach of these rules. Buckinghamshire residents are therefore being warned not to leave clothes out for collection by W&W Help Ltd.

Ensure you read the small print before donating to organisations.

Cold calling carpet cleaners.

We have reports of cold calling telephone salespeople phoning High Wycombe residents offering to clean carpets for £8.99. The company is actually offering to clean carpets for £8.99 per sq metre. The company also appears not to give cancellation rights in writing. We advise people not to deal with cold calling traders. Carpet cleaning companies can be found by visiting the Buy With Confidence website. Traders on the BWC website have all been Trading Standards approved. Companies offering services in your home must give cancellation rights in writing. Where possible get written quotations before agreeing to having the work done.

• Doorstep selling information

Tax refund scams

A number of emails are circulating purporting to be from HM Revenue & Customs.
HM Revenue & Customs are aware of the various scams and carry a comprehensive list of scams on their website.

HM Revenue & Customs state they would not inform customers of a tax rebate via email or invite them to complete an online form to receive a rebate of tax.

Details of tax scams circulating at the moment. Opens in a new window. We are not responsible for the content on external websites.

Do not to visit websites from any unsolicited emails. Never give personal or bank details to unsolicited emails.

Beware - MCO Capital targeted by identity thieves

It looks like hundreds of victims of identity theft are being asked to repay loans they didn't take out.
Action Fraud has had over 100 calls in the past 24 hours from people worried sick by demands for money from MCO Capital.

It appears they are all victims of a gang of identity thieves who have taken out the loans using their details but who, naturally, haven't kept up repayments.

In case anyone is tempted to bury their head in the sand over this, the advice from Action Fraud is "don't"
A spokeswoman said: "If people ignore letters about goods or services they haven't requested they could end up in debt, with bailiffs on their doorstep and a poor credit rating."

If you're a victim or if you need any more advice visit the Action Fraud website or call 0300 123 2040.

Action Fraud will be able to take a crime reports, give you a crime reference number and then feed this into the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, part of the City of London Police.

June 2010

Prize draws

Consumers in Buckinghamshire are receiving a high volume of mail telling them they have won an award or prize.  Our advice is to read the letter carefully, be aware you may be telephoning a premium rate number and read all the small print of any agreement attached to the letter.

If you do not wish to receive this type of mail sign up with the Mail Preference Service and be extremely careful who and when you give your personal details to companies that may sell on your information.

• Mail Preference Service. 

April 2010

Employment scam

A scam likely to be originating in Nigeria is using details of a well known Buckinghamshire company to entice respondents into replying to scam emails, offering employment.

This is a bogus offer, and thought to be something more sinister.

Verco Office Furniture based in High Wycombe is not connected in anyway whatsoever to this scam. 

Verco scam warning 

Further help and information.

• Identity theft 
• Scam detectives 

Advertising and publishing information

Small businesses are being targeted by unscrupulous and bogus companies.

A scam from Mexico informing business they have been allocated a free entry in an agricultural show catalogue. The pro-forma page received show some company information, but requests much more detailed information about your company and employees.

Companies are also receiving demands from Weinstein Williams Associates for advertisement in directories and newsletters they have not agreed to and have no knowledge of the publications.

Our advice is

• Do not respond to unsolicited mail without ensuring it is from a genuine company.
• Run a simple internet search to see if other companies have issues.
• Businesses who are interested in supporting events should check with the organisers website to see who their promoters are.
• Always be extremely cautious about giving financial or employee details via unsolicited mail

For further information

• Adscams.co.uk 
• What to ask if you are 'cold called' by a publishing company 

Cold calling computer company

Concerns are being raised about cold callers telephoning people alleging they are from a computer company. The conversations suggests that they can assist with problems with your home PC. Your PC maybe running too slow, or you maybe experiencing frequent disconnection problems. Our advice is not to deal with cold callers . Never give personal information over the telephone to cold callers. Never give passwords or credit cards and bank details over the telephone.

March 2010

Escort & companionship agencies - website scams

Numerous people have been caught out by these so called agencies making false promises.

It works like this, you respond to an advertisement offering work as an escort or a companion for lucrative rewards (ie 'earn in excess of £2000 a week'). Initially a thorough interview is carried out over the telephone to ensure you are suitable to be a member of the so called exclusive organisation. A few days later you receive a call from the agency's customer services department informing you that they have clients who are interested in you profile and that before they can make a booking they require payment of their registration/membership free (typically between £250 and £400). The agency will normally require the payment to be made directly into a bank account. Once the registration fee is paid, the agency will contact you with the details of where you should meet the client, sometimes even arranging for you to be collected. A few hours before the meeting however, someone will call you to say the client had to cancel because of other commitments and that they will contact you again as soon as they have a new client.

There are lots of websites that pose as agencies. They take a fee in return for featuring you on their website, but they are not agencies, just advertising sites. They provide you with misleading/false information over the phone to get you to sign up. All you get is an advert on their website with no guarantee you will ever get any clients. The likelihood is that you will never hear from them again.
As far as we are concerned, genuine escort/companionship agencies do not ask for registration/membership fees in advance. Only when their escorts/companions have been paid for the booking do they take a fee in the form of commission.

Don't be a victim of such a scam. If you sign up to one of these so called agencies, the chances of recovering your money is non existent as most of them operate from outside the United Kingdom jurisdiction.

Find out more - Warning signs of escort scams - Helping victims of e-crime and online incidents (opens in a new window. We are not responsible for the content on external websites).

Peddlars detained

Peddlars certificates are issued by police authorities to peddlers, a peddler trades on foot from door to door selling or offering goods at the time for immediate payment. The certificates are a way of police and other statutory authorities verifying who the peddlers are and they can corroborate the persons are genuine peddlers. Members of the public should not accept peddlers certificates as a form of identity as they have no way of verifying these. In the last few weeks in Buckinghamshire males have been detained with false peddlers certificates.

A peddler is:
'any hawker, peddlar, petty chapman, tinker, caster of metals, mender of chairs, or other person who, without any horse, or other beast of bearing or drawing burden, travels and trades on foot and goes from town to town or to other men’s house, carrying or selling or exposing for sale any goods, wares, merchandise immediately to be delivered, or selling or offering his skill in handicraft.'

In modern language, a peddler trades on foot from door to door selling or offering goods at the time for immediate payment.

Targeted sales

We have been informed older people are being targeted by companies selling alarm systems. The salespeople who visit are fast talking and give lots of figures and statistics about crime which is frightening the older people.

The product demonstrated is free, but the maintenance and monitoring runs into thousands of pounds.
Trading Standards operate the Buy with confidence, which has a list of approved local traders (opens in a new window. We are not responsible for the content on external websites).

Doorstep selling, also known as cold calling, is when someone comes to your front door or telephones you without prior arrangement and then tries (often persistently) to sell you something. Visits to your home to follow up a cold call telephone call, where the visitor then tries to sell to you, are also covered by the same rules.

Cold callers include, amongst others:

• Driveway contractors
• Roofing contractors
• Burglar alarm sellers
• Double glazing sellers

If you are unexpectedly subjected to a sales pitch at home the law protects you if you purchase, provided the contract you enter into is for more than £35.

What you can do

• Never let an uninvited tradesman into your home.
• Think carefully before entering into any agreement either written or verbal.
• Check the internet, see if the company is known. MoneySavingsExpert.com (opens in a new window. We are not responsible for the content on external websites) has forums that may well give information about various companies.
• Get at least three separate written quotations.
• Only use companies that have been recommended by a friend or relative.
• If you hear about a rogue caller tell everyone you know, especially the elderly or vulnerable.
• Say no. In the cold light of day your purchase will look less of a bargain and may be of substandard workmanship.