Coventry Consumer Network – Scam Alert – 28th May
PayPal email warning – 28 May 2014
Residents should be aware of scam emails claiming to be from PayPal saying you
have received funds to your PayPal account. The email may be headed: ‘You’ve
Received New Funds!’
The email is not from PayPal and the links in the text, if clicked, take you to a fake
version of the PayPal website where scammers would attempt to steal personal &
financial information.
PayPal advise the following:
• Genuine emails from PayPal will always address you by first and last names
or business name, never a generic greeting like ‘Dear PayPal user’
• Genuine emails from PayPal will never ask you to enter your password
or financial information or send such information in an email. You should
only share information about your account once you have logged in to:
www.paypal.com/uk
• Genuine emails from PayPal will never contain an attachment or ‘software
update’ to install on your computer
If you receive this email:
• Forward the entire email to: spoof@paypal.com without altering the subject
line
• Delete the email from your email account
BT fraudulent phone calls – 28 May 2014
Coventry Trading Standards are warning that fraudsters are telephoning residents on
landlines pretending to be from BT. They claim your last bill has not been paid and
unless an immediate payment is made by credit or debit card your telephone line will
be disconnected immediately. They warn that if you do not pay now it will cost a lot
more to reconnect it.
BT have confirmed they may have to call you about a debt, but they will never
disconnect a phone line during the call.
Although this scam uses the BT name, fraudsters often adapt and could use any
other service provider to try to convince you.
Our advice: if you have any concerns, terminate the call and contact BT using a
number found on your last bill. You should never give out personal or banking details
over the phone.
Working from home offers – 28 May 2014
Leaflets have been distributed in the Holbrooks area offering opportunities to work
from home filling envelopes for an un-named mail order company.
No experience is needed but an upfront fee of £29.99 is required so that information
can be sent to you. There is a promise that this will be refunded after submitting work
to them.
Before considering taking up the offer follow the advice given on the Action Fraud
website; Action Fraud is the National Fraud Reporting Centre in the UK.
Payday loan brokers posing as credit unions online – 28 May 2014
According to an article published on Money Saving Expert, there is evidence to
suggest that some loan brokers are giving the impression that they are credit unions
in an attempt to attract customers.
Research carried out by an Actual Credit Union – Somerset Savings and Loans
– showed that some Internet search results for “credit unions” may bring up ads
for “credit union loans” which will not be a Credit Union. Instead it may take you to
a broker offering a payday loan with rates from 9.9% – 3,350%APR variable. Credit
Unions are not allowed to offer loans above 42.6%
Coventry City Council, like many other Councils, is seeking to support Credit
Unions to help ensure that they provide an effective and viable alternative to the so
called ‘pay day lenders.’
To find your local credit union visit www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk or call the
Association of British Credit Unions (Abcul) on 0161 832 3694.
Safety recall – mattresses and chair bed sold at Lidl – 28 May 2014
Due to an unspecified potential safety concern, Lidl UK is recalling all stock of the
following items: ‘Guest Mattress’, ‘Meradiso Guest Mattress’ & ‘Meradiso Chair Beds’
from sale.
Anyone who has purchased the above should return it to a store for a full refund.
This affects all item numbers. Other ‘Meradiso’ products are not affected by this
recall.
Any customers with queries or concerns can contact Customer Services on 0870
444 1234.
National Scams Awareness Month – doorstep scams – 28 May 2014
‘Courier’ Scam – this involves a phone call from someone claiming to be from the
Police or the bank warning of fraudulent activities on your credit or debit card.
The caller asks for confirmation of sensitive personal information which may include
your PIN Number. They then arrange to collect your ‘compromised’ card from your
doorstep so that a replacement one can be issued.
The call is not from the Police or bank, it is from a fraudster who may now have all
the information they need to raid your account.
Another courier scam may involve expensive mobile phones which is delivered
by a legitimate delivery company but is immediately followed by a phone call from
someone claiming that the phone has been delivered to the wrong person, and
needs to be collected straight away.
Scammers will have picked a name and address at random using stolen or cloned
card details to place an order and arrange a delivery date and time.
The scammers hope to get away with a ‘free’ contract mobile phone.
Protect yourself against scammers:
• Be wary of accepting any goods not ordered. Report suspicious to the
company who sent it before handing it back to anyone claiming to be a
courier.
• Never agree to deal with cold callers offering home improvement type work as
this is a favoured approach used by Rogue Traders whose sole intention is to
extract as much money from their victims as possible.
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Report scams to:
Citizens Advice consumer service: 08454 04 05 06 or www.adviceguide.org
Action Fraud (UK’s National Fraud Office): 0300 123 2040 or www.actionfraud.org.uk
For more information on scams, visit: www.coventry.gov.uk/scams