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CORONA VIRUS
SCAM ALERTWEST YORKSH IRE TRAD ING STANDARDS NEWSLETTER
We are urging residents to be aware of fraudsters looking to takeadvantage of the new government 'Green Homes' grant. The schemeoutlined this week is offering energy efficient home improvement grants.The grants are not yet live and eligibility criteria is still unknown. Thescheme is expected to launch in September. We expect many criminalswill seek to exploit this opportunity to target our residents. Wheneverconsidering having work done on your home, please use reputable tradespeople, take recommendations from family and friends, get writtenquotes to compare and don’t pay cash up-front.
Ticket Scams set to riseWith pubs, restaurants, cinemas and museums set to reopen, demand for
tickets is likely to be high. We're reminding people to take extra care whenbuying tickets online. Only buy tickets from the venue’s box office, officialpromoter or agent, or a well-known and reputable ticket site. Avoid payingfor tickets by bank transfer, especially if buying from someone unknown.Be wary of unsolicited emails, texts or adverts offering unbelievably good
deals on tickets. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Several consumers in the UK are still being contacted by fraudsterspurporting to be HMRC offering tax refunds. HMRC will never ask for personalor financial information when they send text messages. Do not reply if youget a text message claiming to be from HMRC offering you a tax refund inexchange for personal or financial details. Do not open any links in themessage. HMRC has also issued a warning against an automated phone callscam which will tell consumers that HMRC is filing a lawsuit against them,and to press one to speak to a caseworker to make a payment.
West Yorkshire Trading Standards weekly update on COVID-19 related scams.
V O L . 1 5 2 0 2 0
Warning to Consumers over 'Green Homes' scheme
Tax Refund Phishing Scam
@SAFERProject
W E S T Y O R K S H I R E T R A D I N G S T A N D A R D S N E W S L E T T E R
As COVID-19 lockdown measures start to ease,National Trading Standards is predicting a rise in scamtelephone calls as illegitimate call centres around theworld get back to work. Consumers are encouraged tobe wary of any cold callers where the caller is askingfor personal/ banking information. COVID-19 hasprovided new opportunities for telephone scammersto take advantage of members of the public. Onecompany was found to have made over 680,000automated scam calls over a four-week period, urgingpeople to purchase face masks and hand sanitiser at acost of £29.99-£49.99 by falsely claiming that the PPEwas a government requirement.
West Yorkshire = 15 COVID-19intelligence logs submitted from 29.06.2020 - 05.07.2020 and 13complaints / enquiries
COVID-19 intelligence logs forYorkshire & Humber Region from29.06.2020 - 05.07.2020 =25
Total Amount of NationalTrading Standards SanitisedIntelligence Logs – 6017 (01.03.2020- 05.07.2020)
Report scams to Action Fraud: 0300 123 2040
Report complaints to CitizensAdvice Consumer Helpline:
0808 223 1133
Mailbox to dealwith reports of Covid-19 Scams in West
Yorkshire:[email protected]
JULY 2020 PAGE | 02
Report to us:
@wytradstandards
Forward scam emails [email protected]
Regular updates can also befound on:
The week in stats...
Call Blockers Update
West Yorkshire Trading Standards has call blockers available for vulnerableresidents living in Leeds and Wakefield. Residents must be experiencing highvolumes of nuisance calls to receive a call blocker. *We are unfortunately notable to install call blockers due to COVID-19 at the moment. If you areinterested in a call blocker, please contact our covid-19 scam inbox:
The SAFER project are now deliveringonline workshops. To find out more
please email [email protected]
