Warnings issued as spate of scams hits Warwickshire - The Rugby Observer

Warnings issued as spate of scams hits Warwickshire

Rugby Editorial 9th Jul, 2021   0

A SPATE of scams are doing the rounds in Warwickshire.

Anti-scam organisation Safe In Warwickshire has warned county residents about fraudulent internet ‘pop-up’ windows, fake clothing recycling banks, cold-callers pretending to be from the NHS, bogus police phone calls, and fake Census text messages.

 

SCAM ‘pop-up’ windows on the internet which offer free gifts have been duping Warwickshire residents out of hundreds of pounds.




To receive a free gift, web users are asked to input credit or debit card details to pay for postage and packaging, costing £1.

However, they may unwittingly be signing up to a subscription service – for face creams or health supplements, for example – and authorising a continuous payment authority.


Larger amounts of money, usually close to £100, are taken later on – continuing on a monthly basis until the continuous payment authority is cancelled.

Visit https://tinyurl.com/xvs4rj4f or https://tinyurl.com/d3yndb43 for more about continuous payment authority.

 

NOT all charity clothing recycling banks are genuine, residents have been warned.

Scammers sometimes place bogus charity banks among genuine ones in car parks or other public places.

Residents are advised to read the information on the recycling bins before donating. Genuine charity bins will usually carry the name and registered number of the charity.

Recycling banks are also operated by private businesses that collect for profit. These are usually marked with a business name and sometimes a limited company number. Some may be signed ‘commercial recycling’.

Visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission to look up a charity.

 

SCAMMERS are cold-calling Warwickshire residents to tell them that their NHS number has been suspended, Warwickshire Trading Standards has warned.

Recipients of the bogus recorded phone calls are encouraged to press a number to speak to someone to ‘resolve the problem’.

Victims are pressured in to handing over personal and financial information in order to obtain a new NHS number.

Residents are advised never to provide cold-callers with any personal or financial information.

Visit www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/identity-fraud-and-identity-theft for help and advice on identity theft.

 

BOGUS phone calls have been received by Warwickshire residents, from people claiming to be from the Metropolitan Police.

The callers claim that the resident’s debit card has been used recently. The callers then attempt to get the recipient to reveal personal and financial information, and may ask them to move their money to a ‘safe’ account which is really controlled by the scammer.

Visit https://tinyurl.com/24s22952 for more on bank transfer scams.

 

RESIDENTS have reported receiving bogus Census 21 text messages, despite the Census having been completed.

One reads: ‘CENSUS: There is missing information from your Census application. Failure to update your details may result in a £1,000 penalty’. A link then directs the recipient to a scam website.

Another text message states that the recipient has not completed and returned their Census form. Again, it threatens the recipient with a £1,000 fine and directs them to click on a link in the text message to resolve the matter.

Residents are advised to avoid clicking on links in text messages where at all possible. If you think a text message is genuine, visit the organisation or business website by typing the genuine web address in to the web browser.

The Government says that now Census Day has passed, they are sending letters to everyone who hasn’t returned their Census.

Contact the Census to check if emails or texts are genuine via https://census.gov.uk or by calling 0800 141 2021.

 

POLICE have reported an increase across Warwickshire of criminals ‘spoofing’ mobile phone numbers which look like your own personal number, or the same as a government agency.

Residents are advised to hang up on calls asking for personal details, or call back on a number you know and trust.

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