Residents are once again being warned to be on their guard against bogus ‘pension review’ phone calls. A Wyken resident has reported receiving such a call from a Manchester number and personal information was asked for.

Since April 2015 if you are over 55 you can access your pension funds but this may also give the opportunity to scammers and fraudsters to try to entice you with a ‘free pension review’, ‘one-off investment opportunity’ or ‘legal loophole’ which may put your Pension at risk enabling them to swipe the lot.

Watch out for the following signs:

• An unsolicited telephone call: firms regulated with the Financial Conduct Authority are very unlikely to do this, so the safest thing is to hang up.
• Fraudsters who call unexpectedly may talk about an investment opportunity and refer to an email or brochure that you should have already received.
• Another warning signal – offers to invest in time-limited investments or offering a bonus or discount if you agree to sign up now.

Remember, if you’re under age 55, you cannot release your pension unless you are in ill health.

Visit the Pensions Regulator website for more information on pension scams and how best to protect yourself.

Fraudsters often use the names of well-known companies to commit their crimes as it makes their communication seem more legitimate and this was exactly what a Westwood Heath resident received last week.

The caller claimed to be from BT and went on to say that he was calling to fix the residents internet issues relating to an IP address hack.

The resident was asked to enter a code into their laptop which would reveal the 'errors' followed by a request to log onto a website so the ‘errors’ could be seen. This was refused and the resident hung up which is exactly the right thing to do - only for the scammer to call straight back threatening to cut off Internet access!

BT advised the resident that the call was bogus and have passed the information onto their Security Team.

Scam attempts like these are unfortunately common and we have issued a number of previous alerts on this, especially those involving Microsoft.

Allowing anyone remote access to your PC may let the caller install an antivirus programme that you can often download for free from the internet and it may also give the opportunity to interrogate your PC for personal information which could be used for fraudulent purposes. They could also install malware that may damage your PC.

Our advice as with any unsolicited call or email from someone offering a service, is not to deal with them no matter what they say or claim.

More cam advice from BT.

Trading Standards are warning online sellers to be vigilant after reports of fake buyers using websites such as Gumtree and eBay.

A local resident from the Stoke area sold a £100 laptop on eBay. Soon after, the seller had an email purporting to be from PayPal, which confirmed the funds for the laptop had been transferred. The Laptop was then posted to the address in Nigeria supplied by the buyer.

When the seller checked their PayPal Account, it was realised that the funds were not there and a phone call to PayPal confirmed that the email had been a fake.

Get the facts: online sales and PayPal

• Log into your PayPal independently. Go to the URL directly; do not use a link from the buyer’s email.
• Check for yourself that the money is in your account.
• PayPal doesn’t hold money until you send the goods so if the money isn’t there, don’t send your sale item.
• Official company emails, such as notifications from PayPal or eBay aren’t filled with typos and awkward English. Poor grammar is a sure sign the email is a fraud.

Sainsbury’s is recalling packets of ‘by Sainsbury’s Almonds’ and ‘by Sainsbury’s Flaked Almonds’ because a limited number of packs contain Brazil nuts which are not mentioned on the label. This means the product is a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy to Brazil nuts.

Product: by Sainsbury’s Almonds
Pack size: 300g
Best before end: April 2017

Product: by Sainsbury’s Flaked Almonds
Pack size: 200g
Best before end: March 2017

Risk: Allergen: nuts (Brazil)

Advice: If you have bought one of the above products and have an allergy to Brazil nuts, do not eat it. Instead return it to the store from where you bought it for a full refund