Coventry City Council is supporting a national scams awareness campaign which is run jointly between local Trading Standards teams and Citizens Advice, to encourage local people to report scams and speak out to stop scams from spreading.

It also gives us the opportunity to highlight current scam activity in the city and help residents tackle them.

Throughout July the four key channels used to conduct scams will be looked at which are:

• Telephone Scams
• Online Scams
• Mail Scams
• Doorstep Scams

Reporting any scams you receive can help to build up intelligence on the scammers and how they target people. You can report scams to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline online via their online reporting form or by telephone on 03454 04 05 06 or to Action Fraud online via their online fraud reporting tool or by telephone on 0300 123 2040.

A Willenhall resident has reported receiving an unexpected phone call from ‘The County Court of London’ claiming that they were entitled to Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) compensation.

The cheque for several thousand pounds would be hand delivered to their door, but firstly, the resident would have to purchase a ‘Paysafe’ voucher for £225. This would be collected when the cheque was delivered.

This is a variation of the Advanced Fee Fraud whereby fraudsters attempt to trick the potential victim into paying monies upfront for goods or services that never materialise.

In this instance, scammers use middlemen to collect the vouchers and hand over worthless stolen or forged cheques in return. Paysafe vouchers are a legitimate money transfer method, but they are often used by fraudsters as they are difficult to trace.

Our advice: If you are unsure about a phone call or text message, especially one stating you are entitled to a PPI refund do not agree to anything and never give your personal details to anyone over the phone.

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has noticed an increase in reports of fraudsters placing fake letter boxes on residential properties in an attempt to intercept the mail. Residents are often unaware of the fake letterbox as the fraudsters will remove the item once mail has been delivered. The mail is then used to open various lines of credit with financial providers in the name of the innocent resident.

Whilst there have not been any reports of this locally, we are aware that fraudsters have been targeting external postboxes in the Styvechale area. The information obtained from the stolen post was then used to apply for credit cards, loans and used for online shopping transactions.

• Be vigilant and check for any suspicious activity, tampering of your post/letterbox.
• Check all post received from financial institutions, even if they appear unsolicited.
• Report theft of mail to your local police force and any cases of identity fraud to Action Fraud. 
• If you have been a victim of identity fraud consider Cifas Protective Registration.

Coventry City Council Trading Standards is supporting the national Food Safety Week campaign from Monday 4 July to Sunday 10 July 2016 to help prevent food waste across the City.

In the UK we throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year, the majority of which could have been eaten. Wasting this food costs a family with children £700 a year, the equivalent of around £60 a month. 

One of the key messages is that households can save money and reduce waste by eating, cooking or freezing food before the ‘Use By’ date as Freezing acts like a “pause button” by slowing any further deterioration.

Another key message is that ‘Best Before’ dates are about quality meaning that food will be safe to eat a short time after this date, although it may not be at its best. 

On the other hand, food past its ‘Use By’ date is not safe to eat even if it looks or smells fine.

Trading Standards help ensure that food premises do not sell food past its use-by-date and that commercial premises dispose of their former food stuffs appropriately.

More information about the FSA.

You can keep up to date with Food Safety Week 2016 by following FSA on Twitter @foodgov.

Marks and Spencer is recalling its two skipjack tuna fishcakes because the presence of egg is not mentioned on the label. This means the product is a possible risk for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to egg.

Product: Marks and Spencer 2 Skipjack Tuna Fishcakes

Use by dates: 02 July 2016, 03 July 2016 and 06 July 2016

Risk: Allergen: egg

Advice: If you have bought the above product and have an allergy or intolerance to egg, do not eat it. Instead return it to the nearest Marks and Spencer store for a full refund.