Coventry Trading Standards officers have seized over 30,000 illegal cigarettes and pouches of tobacco in a raid at a city house.

Police had to force entry to the flat in Hillfields, as pictured. Trading Standards officers found a stash of illegal cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco in the kitchen and hallway. In total, 32,000 cigarettes and 240 pouches of tobacco were found.

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Trading Standards are warning university students to be on their guard following national reports of a new phishing scam.

Students have been receiving emails headed up 'Your grant information from the University of ...' claiming they have been awarded an educational grant by the Department for Education. 

The email purports to have come from the Finance Department of the student’s university and tricks the recipient into clicking on a link contained in the message to provide personal and banking details.

One victim reported that after submitting their sensitive information (including name, address, date of birth, contact details, telephone provider, bank account details, student ID, National Insurance Number, driving licence number and mother’s maiden name), they were taken to a spoofed website which appeared like a genuine website of their bank. They were then asked to type in their online banking login credentials.

Students are urged to remain vigilant and never disclose any personal or bank details in response to unsolicited email requests.

If you think you may have compromised the safety of your bank details and/or have lost money due to fraudulent misuse of your cards, you should immediately contact your bank and report it to Action Fraud.

Visit Get Safe Online for advice on how to protect yourself from identity fraud.

Coventry Trading Standards are warning the public to be wary of bogus telephone calls claiming to be from HMRC.

There have been a number of reports countrywide of attempted HMRC frauds starting with a telephone call rather than the more typical email or scam texts.

Over the bank holiday weekend, a resident in Cheylesmore reported receiving such a call.

They were advised that they were in tax arrears and in order to stop immediate court action being instigated, the arrears had to be paid. Thankfully the resident realised that this was a scam and hung up on the call. It would appear that this was an attempt to obtain personal information, including bank details.

This latest scam is being investigated by HMRC’s fraud section. HMRC has published advice with genuine HMRC contacts and how to recognise scams.

HMRC also advise that if any details are inadvertently disclosed, contact them immediately on security.custcon@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.

Trading Standards are warning residents to beware of the latest ‘lottery win’ scam after a Tile Hill resident reported receiving a letter claiming they had won almost £1 million.

The letter claimed to have come from International FIFA World Cup online lottery.

But the recipients are told they will have to pay a fee to claim the money.

If you send any money you will get nothing in return; and if you send one payment, they will contact you again and try to con you out of even more.

You may also become a victim of fraud and find that your details will be passed to others so that they too can bombard you with similar notifications.

Protect yourself and ask yourself how could you win a lottery if you haven't bought a ticket?

Our advice – put this and similar letters in the recycling bin, but remember to shred first.

Thinking about buying a used car? Coventry Trading Standards are advising that free information is now available on the internet which makes it much easier to check the history of a second hand vehicle before you buy.

In recent months, two new Government websites have been launched that can reveal a car’s MOT history and tax status, free of charge to potential buyers.

The MOT history website provides detailed information including previous test dates, what the mileage was at the time, whether the vehicle passed or failed and reasons for any failure points. Use this website to check mileage accuracy and to get an idea of vehicle condition before buying.

The Driver & Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) website has information on the tax/SORN status of the vehicle, year of manufacture, date first registered, engine size and colour.

And, for a few pounds, there are also now many companies that will provide full vehicle histories. There are even apps you can download on to your phone to use when you are out car shopping.

Trading Standards would always strongly advise consumers to ‘check before you buy’ and research the history of any used car they are considering buying. 

Read the 15 point checklist to help guide you through buying a second hand car.

3D Trading is recalling packets of Cheetos Cheddar Jalapeno Crunchy cheese flavoured snacks because the ingredients list does not mention milk correctly as an allergen. This means the product is a possible risk for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to milk or milk constituents.

• Product: Cheetos Cheddar Jalapeno Crunchy Cheese Flavoured Snacks
• Pack size: 56.7g
• Batch no: CHSSS-4179H/7E LAP 30043652
• Durability marking: 'Guaranteed Fresh Until MAY 31'
• Risk: Allergens: milk.

Advice: If you have bought the above product and have an allergy or intolerance to milk or milk constituents, do not eat it. Instead return it to the store where you bought it from.