Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative which will launch on 1 September.

Friends Against Scams aims to:

• Highlight the scale of the problem by getting communities and the nation talking about scams.
• Change the perceptions of why people become scam victims.
• Prevent people from becoming or continuing to be a scam victim by providing more adequate support.
• Recruit people to join the fight against scams to make this a scam-free nation.

Within the initiative there will be:

• Friends: People from all walks of life who attend a short training session, commit to talking to others about scams and potentially identify victims.
• SCAMchampions: Friends who attend a further training session to enable them to recruit new Friends Against Scams.
• SCAMbassadors: MPs, senior officials or someone who will use their influence to raise the profile of scams.

How to get involved:

Organisations

Friends Against Scams organisations will pledge to actively promote the Friends Against Scams initiative; the easiest way to do this is to make all staff Friends Against Scams. 

Members of the Public

Members of the public can become Friends Against Scams by attending face to face training sessions or by completing the online awareness session.

For more information contact friendsagainstscams@eastsussex.gov.uk or visit http://www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/

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Every year millions of Muslims from around the world make the journey to Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia, for the annual pilgrimage or Hajj and tens of thousands of British Muslims will have booked trips to Saudi Arabia to make the pilgrimage to the Mecca and celebrate Hajj.

They spend as much as £125 million on pilgrimages. However, in the coming weeks some of them may unfortunately find out that their trips have either been soured by sub-standard hotels and travel arrangements or completely destroyed by criminals selling scam Hajj packages for non-existent flights, accommodation and visas. The fraudsters pose as legitimate travel operators who offer discounts of up to 50% off the usual price to make pilgrimages to Mecca. Some people may find out their tour bookings were never made and the fraudsters have stolen their money, leaving them stuck in the UK or stranded in Saudi Arabia. The Council of British Hajjis estimates that only 3% of victims report the fraud.

For information on how to protect yourself from Hajj fraudsters see our webpages

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Charity shops and other second hand retailers are being urged be on the lookout for Bednest bedside cribs, of the type that has been linked by the West Sussex Coroner to the death of a baby in West Sussex.

Coventry Trading Standards Service understands that some Bednest cribs without essential safety modifications may be on sale in some second hand shops. This follows the recent discovery of an unmodified bedside crib on sale in a charity shop in East Grinstead, West Sussex.

Only modified cribs with current instructions can be sold.

Following the death last year, Bednest Ltd (a Stratford upon Avon based company), notified its known customers of the availability of a modification kit that prevents the sides from being partially lowered to remove this asphyxiation risk.

While Bednest Ltd. is monitoring second hand online sales, some cribs are still finding their way onto the second-hand market in an unmodified state and potentially without proper instructions on not leaving the baby unattended with the sides folded down.

Coventry Trading Standards urge anyone who has bought or is selling a Bednest crib to check it has had the modification and updated instructions by going to the Bednest website: www.bednest.com/FAQs.

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Unilever is recalling four batches of its Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough 500ml ice cream, as a precautionary measure because the products might contain small pieces of metal.

Risk: The possible presence of small metal pieces

Product: Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough 500ml ice cream

Pack size: 500ml

Batch codes: L62110L011 / L62111L011 / L62112L011 / L62113L011

Advice:  If you have bought a product with the batch codes listed above do not eat it. Instead, dispose of the product and contact the Ben & Jerry’s customer care line on 0800 146 252 with the details written on the bottom of the tub.

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