Scam Alerts from Coventry Trading Standards - 06 August 2014

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Scam Alerts from Coventry Trading Standards - 06 August

In this issue:

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Residents warned about Rogue Traders

We continue to receive reports of rogue traders going door to door in a number of areas in the City. Residents in Ernesford Grange, Copswood, Mount Nod and Canley have reported a variety of cold callers offering services including power washing of drives and gardening work.

Our advice – Do not deal with traders who cold call 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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Bogus BT Calls for Telephone Blocking Service

We are warning residents to beware of bogus calls advising that their BT call blocking service is due to expire.

A local resident has reported receiving a call, and being told that her ‘fee’ for renewal of the service was due at a cost of £49.99. Bank details were requested, and the resident asked if it could not just be added to the telephone bill? It was agreed that this could happen, but the caller insisted they would still require bank details to do this.

BT confirmed to the resident that it was not them calling, and that they would not ask for a consumers bank details.

Our advice is to register for FREE with the Telephone Preference Service [TPS] and whilst this will not prevent all nuisance calls it should reduce them.

For more information visit the Telephone Preference Service website or phone 0845 070 0707.

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Suspicious email from PureMobile Inc confirming an order

We have received reports of an email in circulation claiming to be from PureMobile Inc thanking the unnamed recipient for placing an order and quotes an order number together with an amount of money in US $ that will be charged to your credit card.

Information on a number of online forums suggests that this email has been in circulation ffor a couple of years and it is a scam. There is a suggestion that there is a possibility that by opening the attached file malware may be downloaded and installed on your device.

No doubt should anyone respond to the email asking what this is all about or saying they had not ordered anything there may be an attempt to engage the person asking for personal information on the basis this is needed to double check the order etc.

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Champagne fraudster loses his fizz

A calculating fraudster, known as ‘Fizzy’ because of his champagne-fuelled lifestyle, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of conning elderly and vulnerable victims out of vast sums of money, and sentenced to serve eight years in prison.

In a variation on a traditional scam that has not been seen before, Frank Onyeachonam’s victims were encouraged to set up ‘legitimate’ businesses with accompanying bank accounts, which were then used to launder the proceeds of the fraud. As a result, some of the victims were themselves investigated by law enforcement.

The names of over 5,000 US citizens were found on Mr Onyeachonam’s computers, with the details of individuals susceptible to these types of scams, known as ‘suckers lists’. In addition, handwritten notes of 406 individuals including names, contact details and payment and bank details were found. Of the victims that were spoken to, 12 confirmed losses totalling approximately £900,000.

On summing up, the Judge said by giving a not guilty plea, Onyeachonam “showed no remorse” and he continued to offend following his arrest “with an arrogance that is unbelievable”.

Victims would receive a letter advising them they had won the Australian lottery and instructing to call the lottery agent, Dr Jeff Lloyds, an alias used by Onyeachonam. They were told they needed to pay fees and taxes before they could receive a large cash prize and further requests for ‘fees’ continued for some time.

The fraud began in 2005, with payments being sent to the UK, Nigeria and Asia

For the full story visit the National Crime Agency website: www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk.

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Young’s Seafood Ltd recall Chip Shop Extra Large Fishcakes

Young’s is recalling one batch of its Chip Shop Extra Large Fish Cakes 2 Pack, as a precautionary measure, because a limited number of packs were found to have been contaminated with small pieces of hard plastic.

The affected pack size is the 2 Pack (210g), Batch Code: L4160, Barcode number: 5000205035321 with a ‘Best before end’ date: December 2015. 

No other Young’s Seafood Ltd products are known to be affected.  

If you have bought the above product, do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store where you bought it from for a full refund. For further details or if you have any questions, please call the Young’s Seafood care line on: 0800 496 8647 or email consumer_care@youngsseafood.co.uk.

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Saki Snacks Ltd withdraw a batch of Almond Ground

Saki Snacks is withdrawing a batch of its Almond Ground because the presence of peanut protein is not mentioned on the label. This makes the product a possible health risk for anyone who has an allergy to peanuts.

The affected Pack size is 200g, Batch code: 1923 R 140129 N with a ‘Best before’ end: April 2015

Saki advise that if you have bought any of the above products and have an allergy to peanuts, do not eat it. Instead, return the pack with its contents to the address stated at the back of the packet and you will be sent a replacement.

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For more information on scams, visit: www.coventry.gov.uk/scams

How to report scams

Citizens Advice consumer service: 03454 04 05 06 or www.adviceguide.org

Action Fraud (UK’s National Fraud Office): 0300 123 2040 or www.actionfraud.org.uk