Scams:
Current Scam Alerts from Action Fraud: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
General Advice:
Be wary of any unexpected emails you receive, even if they look genuine. If in any doubt, do NOT open any attachments or click on links to web sites and delete the email.
Unfortunately there many hundreds of scams currently in circulation: callers at your door, telephone calls, letters and emails. There are many websites, some we've highlighted above, detailing these scams and how to avoid being deceived by them.
In future, rather than listing all the scams on this page going back years, we will just give a few of the current scams circulating in the Nailsea area. If you are aware of any please let us know using the Contact Us link above and/or add it to our Facebook page via the link above.
Contact Details for all types of Scams etc:
- report online - either sign up for an account or continue as a ‘guest’ or call 0300 123 2040
- The Metropolitan Police Service runs a series of useful web pages called Fraud Alert which contain information about a wide variety of scams, cons, tricks and fraud and how you can keep yourself safe. They also have a booklet call The Little Book of Big Scams which is very useful.
- Think Jessica is a charity dedicated to combating scams. They have handy information on their website, and materials that you can order or download.
- Elder Fraud is a website dedicated to combating fraud perpetrated on the elderly and has a detailed guide to help individuals and families protect older adults from fraud.
Suspicious emails
Forward the email to report@phishing.gov.uk.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will investigate it.
HMRC Suspicious Emails
Forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and texts to 60599, or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040
Text messages
Forward the text message to 7726 - it’s free.
This will report the message to your mobile phone provider.
Adverts
Report scam or misleading adverts to the Advertising Standards Authority. You can report adverts found online, including in search engines, websites or on social media.
You can also report scam or misleading adverts to Google if you found them in Google search results, or report to Bing if you found them in Bing search results.
If you think you’ve been a victim of an online scam or fraud
Contact Action Fraud if you think you’ve lost money or been hacked because of an online scam or fraud. You can:
Protect yourself from bogus web sites
Fraudsters are setting up high specification websites advertising various electrical goods and domestic appliances. These goods are below market value and do not exist. The website will state you can pay via card; however when the purchaser goes to pay, this option is not available and the payment must be made via bank transfer.
The fraudster entices the purchaser and reassures them it is a legitimate purchase by using the widely recognised Trusted Shop Trustmark. They then use the Trustmark fraudulently and provide a link on the bogus electrical website to another bogus website (which purports to be Trusted Shops). This website shows a fake certificate purporting to be from Trusted Shops and provides thousands of reviews for the bogus electrical website. These reviews are all fraudulent. The website has not been certified by Trusted Shops and therefore the purchaser is not covered by the Trusted Shop money-back guarantee.
Protect yourself:
• Check the authenticity of the website before making any purchases. Conduct a ‘Whois’ search on the website which will identify when the website has been created- Be wary of newly formed domains. You can conduct this search using the following website – https://who.is/
• Conduct online research in relation to the website, company name and the business address provided to identify any poor feedback or possible irregularities.
• Check the Trusted Shops Facebook page where warnings about websites using their Trustmark are published. If you are in doubt about the legitimacy of a Trustmark then you can contact Trusted Shops on 0203 364 5906 or by email service@trustedshops.co.uk. They will confirm whether they have certified that website.
• Payments made via bank transfer are not protected should you not receive the item. Therefore always try to make the payment via PayPal or a credit card where you have some payment cover should you not receive your product.
• If the item advertised seems too good to be true, then it probably is.
Subject: Elderly targeted by fake Police Officers
There has been a recent series of incidents whereby fraudsters either phone or attend the home address of elderly members of the public, claiming to be police officers.
The fake officer/s will claim that they are investigating a fraud which they believe the elderly person to be a victim of. The fake officer/s will then request the bank cards and personal identification numbers (PIN) of the victim and claim these are needed for investigation purposes. If the first contact was made by a phone call, the fake officer/s will tell the victim that someone will be over to collect the evidence. In one case the victim was instructed to attend their local bank and withdraw all of the money from their account. The suspect was left alone in the victim’s house whilst the victim carried out the instructions.
Protect Yourself
• Before letting anyone into your home who claims to be from any law enforcement agency, ask to see their identity card and check it by calling 101.
• Ask if they can attend at a pre-arranged time when a family member or friend can also be present.
• If you receive a phone call from a police officer, ask for their name and force and tell them you will call them back. Wait a few minutes and then use 101 to call them back through their force’s switchboard and verify their identity.
• The Police will never ask for your PIN or passwords. Do not give this information to anyone.
• The Police will never request that you withdraw/transfer any money to them.
