Latest scam and rogue trader alerts from Warwickshire Trading Standards
Have You Been Offered Digital Marketing Work? Then Tread with Caution!
If you’ve been offered work carrying out any digital marketing tasks, such as designing web graphics, editing web copy, tagging videos with keywords, reviewing websites, examining web analytics, updating email newsletter lists or updating social media etc. then be wary.
Scammers are recruiting people to carry out these daily tasks and people may think they are being paid for their work as they see the money in their online salary fund increase. At the beginning, they may even be able to withdraw some of this money. However, as time passes and the fund grows, victims of the scam begin to find that they are increasingly have problems withdrawing their cash.
Warwickshire victims have reported being told by the ‘businesses’ they have been working for that to withdraw their funds, they need to send money first. These funds are usually quite considerable, many tens of thousands of pounds, and this is done on purpose, to encourage the victim to make the payment.
This is a take on a classic advanced fee fraud, where the victim is asked to pay a smaller amount of money upfront to later receive a larger amount, when the fraudsters have no intention of sending the victim any money. Victims that do transfer their own money to the fraudsters will just be asked for more.
Victims are often recruited via social media and are contacted by WhatsApp or a similar messaging application.
If you’re offered any sort of job opportunity, do your homework and research the business first. More information on Advanced fee Frauds
Stocks and Shares Investment Trading Scam Left Victim Believing he had made Millions of Pounds
A stocks and shares investment scam left one victim believing he had made over £50M. The victim reported that he had met someone online who had directed him to a website where he could sign up and trade investments. The victim believed that the website was genuine and that he was making money when the site was actually controlled by fraudsters and the millions of pounds in the victim’s trading account didn’t really exist. The victim tried to withdraw some of the ‘money’ he had made but was told that he would have to make a smaller payment up front first.
This is another example of a classic advanced fee fraud, where victims are asked to make smaller payments of money with the false promise that they will receive larger amounts in return.
More information on Advanced fee Frauds
How to Check that a Solicitor if Genuine
Several Warwickshire residents have recently reported receiving threatening letters from solicitors about debts they did not believe they owned. If you receive a letter, it is important that you check that it is genuine. Scammers often use the names of real solicitors to defraud their victim’s, or they create entirely bogus firms. To help avoid being scammed, residents should take the following action:
- Check the name of the firm with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The SRA is the regulator of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales.
- If the name of the business that has contacted you is not on the register, then tread carefully, it could be a scam! The SRA regulate all solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales.
- If the name of the firm is on the SRA register, contact the business using the contact details on the businesses’ SRA record to find out if the letter is genuine or not. Don’t use the telephone number or email address printed on the letter. Fraudsters will create genuine looking solicitor letters but put their own contact details onto them.
Bogus Warwickshire County Council Energy Efficiency Phone Calls
A resident reported receiving an unexpected phone call from someone claiming to be working on behalf of Warwickshire County Council wishing to arrange an appointment to check the resident’s home for energy efficiency. Residents are warned that this is a popular tactic used by rogue traders wanting access to peoples' homes in order to undertake overpriced and unnecessary work. Trading Standards advises all residents not to buy goods or services from unsolicited ‘cold’ callers.
New Phishing Email
Beware of a new scam phishing email that falsely purports to come from BT. The email states that ‘Your bill is available online’ and asks recipients to log in via a link in the email. These bogus email links usually take customers to fake websites from where passwords and user names can be stolen. Never log into your bank, utility company or a business you shop with, via an email. Always log in via their official browser URL or app.
Bogus Bank Loan
A consumer reported applying for a loan from a loan company online and being approved. He was then asked to send money to the loan company, to receive his loan. This the company claimed was for a ‘deposit’. He was then asked for more money because he had a ‘low credit rating’ and finally a further payment for a ‘lawyers’ fee. When the consumer asked to cancel the loan agreement, he was asked to send a further payment as a ‘cancellation fee’. The consumer lost over £1000 and no loan was ever forthcoming.
This is a classic loan fee scam. People searching for loans online will receive a phone call from someone claiming to be able to offer the loan. They may even pretend to be calling from one of the companies the consumer applied to. They then claim that before they can release any money, the customer has to make certain payments. In reality, there is no loan. No money is ever paid out and the customer is simply left out of pocket. Never pay in advance to receive a loan.
More information on Advanced fee Frauds