Consumer news and scams

[SteveH]

There has been a surge in pet scams during the coronavirus pandemic.

Diogelwch Cymunedol Canolog/ Community Safety Cent
@NWPComSafCent
Sadly a nurse at YGC hospital has been scammed. She saw an advert for a husky puppy for £1000 pounds. The fraudster then asked her to pay £450 deposit, which she has done. This was over a week ago and she is now blocked on @Gumtree  and can no longer contact the seller.

[SteveH]

From social media a scam using DVLA details ?  .......................

[Ian]

Apparently, there's been a 20% increase in scamming using DVLA.

[SteveH]

Apparently, there's been a 20% increase in scamming using DVLA.

I have heard that there is a general increase in scams, we are getting the Amazon scam at the moment and are having to block phone numbers daily.

[DVT]

Yesterday I answered a phone call from an 0208... number.  Chap gave his name as Mike, although if I had to guess his name by his accent that name would have been a very long way down the list - he told me that "as I've had the TV for two years I would now have to ..."   I said Goodbye and hung up.

This afternoon received an e-mail to say my licence runs out tonight I would have to pay.  Message quoted my licence number (incorrectly) and, of course, a link to pay.  The e-mail came fom as.kennedy@hotmail.com - needless to say I have not clicked the link, which is to jonbro.tk@?k=anwcc.co.uk ... curiously part of that is my website address.

Co-incidence?

My l,icence is paid annually by direct debit and not at this time of year.

What do these people hope to get out of it - I wonder just how many people do respond.

[SteveH]

An intensive care nurse has lost her entire wedding fund after being tricked by people pretending to work for HMRC – the Government’s tax office.

Nelitza Ramirez Osorio, said more than £5,000 was taken by the fraudsters who she says threatened her with criminal charges if she did not pay up.

It is understood that police have told her they cannot trace where the money was transferred to as she sent the scammers separate installments of under £1,000    ref DP

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/intensive-care-covid-nurse-loses-19012623

[SteveH]

The top online scams in circulation across the UK have been revealed.   ref Pioneer

While banks and building societies will often refund money lost through scams, it is not always guaranteed and the best way you can ensure your money is safe is to take steps to protect yourself from scams.

We've put together a list of the most common scams to watch out for.         

 cont....     https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/18802935.top-scams-need-aware/

[Ian]

Nasty one, this scam: A fake email purporting to be from the HM Courts & Tribunals Service is doing the rounds. It’s another phishing scam out to steal your bank details.

We know from previous scam warnings that panic is a key tactic for scammers – they want to rush you into action before you’ve had a chance to process all the information.

Getting a parking ticket will often achieve exactly that, especially when it tells you that the penalty charge will increase if you don’t pay it within a certain time.

And this phishing email takes it further, not just threatening you with an increased fine, but a county court claim, too. Threats like this can carry weight, which is exactly why it’s essential you take a minute to assess any email you receive before carrying out its instructions.

While at first glance this email may look legit, a closer inspection will reveal it’s not the full ticket – always be on the lookout for spelling mistakes, such as ‘penality’, and sentences that don’t quite add up

[smg id=4139]

[cygnusx-1]

No vehicle registration is a big giveaway and were it was parked!!

[SteveH]

Money and finance expert Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning for all those who use social media apps Facebook and WhatsApp.

Martin has warned of fake posts going round on other social media platforms about an 'extremely sophisticated' scam involving banks.

The posts, which have been circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp, mentioned that recipients get a message saying payment hasn't been taken from O2, Vodafone, Three, GiffGaff or EE and they should click on a link.

"As soon as you touch it you money is gone," the viral warning adds.

https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/18874688.martin-lewis-issues-urgent-warning-facebook-whatsapp-users/

[SteveH]

Cold callers in Llandudno/West Shore area, purporting to be ex military, showing some form of ID ? I believe they were here last year.

This article from a few years ago........

Trading standards officers are warning residents to be on their guard against cold callers selling dusters and other cleaning products.
Officers said the number of incidents of cold callers selling sub-standard and potentially unsafe cleaning products was growing.

These cold-callers, who frequently introduce themselves as ex-armed forces personnel, or ex-offenders on a community scheme, are often targeting, vulnerable and elderly residents according to trading standards.

“We are very concerned at the growing number of incidents around the county where vulnerable residents are targeted and duped into buying extremely poor quality dusters and other cleaning materials,” said County Councillor Andrew Lee, Executive Member for Trading Standards.  “These cold-callers use a range of tactics to generate sympathy and we know of cases where people have paid as much as £200 for products that are practically worthless.”     

As a matter of urgency, to stem the growing number of such cases, trading standards officers are appealing to residents to report these incidents of cold-calling to the Citizens Advice Bureau.  If people feel threatened by cold-callers they should notify the Police.

[Bri Roberts]

This new scam is a real concern.

From Facebook on 30.10.20:

"How lucky am i.
Received new bank card yesterday from santander
Which i thought a bit strange as there still 9 months on my current one.
It wasnt a contactless one either like my current card.
Had all the info on letter from santander about how to activate it etc.
Well as it wasnt contactless its not much use to me so i went into bank today to ask rhem to change it.
They informed me that they hadnt sent out the card and good job i went in.
If i had activated it i would of lost all my money and savings.
Major fraud squad now involved.
People say to me im to suspicious of people and things.
Good job i am.
Bank now ordered me a new card and ive changed all my security details."

[Ian]

I'm not sure how genuine this is. It's a post made on 30th October in a FB group called 'Against Scammers' but it appears nowhere else on the internet, neither is there a confirmation of this activity elsewhere. I would be inclined to treat this as malicious unless and until there's any independent confirmation.

Among other aspects that raised my suspicions is a phrase omitted from Bri's posting above:

"Please pass on to anyone who may be a customer"

Frankly, it's a lot of trouble for a scammer to go to, when easier methods are apparently producing far better results.

[DVT]

Thanks for that info ... I am with Santander and my card expires in a couple of months, so will be wary and careful when new one arrives.  Also have a business one that expires later in 2021.

[Ian]

This is an excellent guide to safe shopping and scam avoidance, published by a friend of mine.

Before buying a product online, take time to check out the seller and the product. Even the most legitimate-looking websites can be fake so do your homework first.

Look for all the names, addresses and phone numbers associated with the website. The website name, the company name and the seller name can all be different. Beware if none of this information is available.

Can you find addresses for the seller? A seller might use several addresses – registered address, VAT, trading, website, check them all out. Are there other ‘sellers’ at the same address?

Search tip: Put phrases in “double quotes” to get an exact match. Works on Google but not all sites.
Removing the double quotes might also bring up some interesting results.

Here are a few sites you can use to check before you buy:

Search for businesses and people

Companies House

Addresses don’t work too well but single words do. There is now a search for officers by location that sort of works for other search terms e.g. John Smith location:”High Street, London”.

 Google Main Search engine

Trust Pilot

What you find is not necessarily the truth but can be a good indicator.

In the case of product reviews:

Many reviews are fake – a sure sign that something is amiss. To safeguard yourself:

Look to see what other reviews the reviewer has left.
Take more notice of bad reviews that often give further information on the seller or the product.

Check VAT numbers

http://www.vatcheck.eu/

Look up addresses Check the timeline to see how the building or area has changed. Scammers often use an address of a vacant building or one that has just been knocked down.
 Google Maps
Get Mapping  (limited but different timelines for free)

Search phone numbers

Put number in double quotes to move spaces around e.g.
“01234 567 890”
“+44 1234 567890”

Search product images

Google's reverse image search
Reverse images (flip horizontally) and search again.

How long has the seller been trading?

Amazon and ebay both show this info. If the seller is new, be very careful.
Ask the seller a question just to get a reply. This could be just asking the weight or dimensions of the product.
Search the reply email address.

Search selected text in “double quotes” from advert or reviews: e.g. “left-handed screwdriver”
https://www.google.co.uk

Search products on foreign eBay/Amazon sites

Put part of the description in double quotes “like this” with e.g. amazon.de or ebay.ca

Google translator (Chinese names & addresses can have interesting results)

Facebook

It is almost impossible to check out sellers thoroughly especially with so many scammers on Facebook selling products that look to good to be true. My advice would be to only buy locally and arrange to meet the seller where you can examine the product and exchange product and cash in person.

Website Checkers

I don’t know very much about the following websites but Kaspersky rates them as safe. A good rating might mean they haven’t been found out yet especially if they are fairly new.


Check the safety of a website or email. No unsafe content found is only one indicator and should not be trusted on its own.

Google's website checker

 Useful for checking potential scams


Remember: to find an exact match of any phrase, enclose that phrase in inverted commas before trying.