In this issue:
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.
Read the full story.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Product: Cheetos Cheddar Jalapeno Crunchy Cheese Flavoured Snacks
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Pack size: 56.7g
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Batch no: CHSSS-4179H/7E LAP 30043652
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Durability marking: 'Guaranteed
Fresh Until MAY 31'
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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.
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For
more information on scams, visit: www.coventry.gov.uk/scams
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