Day 2 of #30Days30WaysUK focuses on scams and it is appropriate to highlight that as well as cyber crime there are other incidents that Lancashire residents have reported in recent months. Examples include:
Scam jet washing services
Lancashire Trading Standards Department received reports of cold callers knocking on doors Over Wyre and in the Goosnargh area, offering to clean gutters, clean the moss off roofs and jet wash driveways recently.
In one incident the householder only agreed to their gutters being cleaned but the trader charged over £1,000, in another case the trader, after an hour's work claimed to have finished and demanded over £2,000.
Such doorstep callers can often be very pushy offering to carry out an initial small amount of work but then escalating the job. If you think you have been scammed and have paid by bank transfer or by card, report the matter to your bank, depending on the circumstances, they may refund you.
Bogus roofers
Be on the alert for cold callers offering to carry out roof work and repairs. A householder in the Fylde area recently agreed to a cold caller replacing faciaboards and soffits, they agreed a price and paid an upfront deposit of £700, the traders never returned.
This is a common scenario - always make sure you use known local traders. Even if cold callers provide paperwork, often the address may not be legitimate, contact phone numbers that look like local landline numbers may not be local but divert to untraceable mobile phones.
Trading Standards advice is to always say no to cold callers.
Scam BT digital landline switchover call
Phone scammers impersonating BT are exploiting upcoming changes to the landline phone network, conning customers into giving them their payment details.
The cold calls, claiming to be from BT, ask the customer to confirm their personal and payment information so their landline can go digital before a deadline. Some victims have received fake calls, asking for on-the-spot payments to move to the digital service, and were threatened with having their landline disconnected immediately when they refused.
Be suspicious, the scammers may know your name and address and use this information to convince you to trust them. Information about the switchover can be found at Moving landlines to digital technologies - GOV.UK
Current phishing scams.
Be on the alert if you receive an email alleging to be from Apple iCloud stating your payment method has expired and your account has been disabled. The email further states that your account has been blocked and that you could lose all your photos, providing a link to click on to update your details.
A scam text claiming to be from Lloyds Bank is also currently doing the rounds, claiming a new direct debit for £126.99 has been set up on your account today. Asking, if you didn't authorise the direct debit to click on the link provided.
It is easy for scammers to send such messages out to millions of people, often they imply a sense of urgency, not giving you time to think and can lead to you providing personal and financial information.
Pet microchip database scam
Pet owners beware receiving a scam email asking you to renew expired microchip registrations. Such scam emails may take your money but your registration will not be valid or legally compliant and will not be of use if your pet is lost or stolen. Always double check the database you are using is registered and listed on the government website, Get your dog or cat microchipped - GOV.UK.
Report scam emails by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk. Report scam texts by forwarding to 7726.
What should you do?
Report any issues to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via www.actionfraud.police.uk.
Contact the Trading Standards Service via the Citizens Advice consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133
Trading Standards advice is to always say no to cold callers. The Safetrader scheme can help you find a trader in your area, contact 0303 333 1111 or go to www.safetrader.org.uk.
