Trading Standards issues telephone fraud warning

Denbighshire Trading Standards Section are warning residents to be on their guard after they received a report of a telephone fraud from a resident of the county.

The consumer had received a call from a male stating that he was from a Claims Advisory Group and that a £2860 PPI refund was due.

Unusually, the consumer was advised that they would have to pay a release fee in ‘iTunes vouchers’ .

These would be collected by a representative of the company called ‘Craig White’ who would attend their home later that day to drop off the cheque. 

The calls were received from a Manchester telephone number beginning with 0161. Luckily, the consumer realised this was a scam and hung up on the caller.

Denbighshire Public Protection Manager,  Emlyn Jones, said: “This is one of a number of telephone scams we are receiving calls about at the moment.

“In this case we have identified that a further telephone call is received and the ‘I Tunes’ voucher codes are requested over the telephone and then no delivery is made and no money is received.

“We are urging residents to be extremely wary of any unsolicited phone calls and never give out personal or banking details.”
 

Trading Standards is issuing the following consumer safety advice:

• Consider making your phone number ex-directory.
• Register with the Telephone Preference Service
• Don’t give out any personal information unless you are the one who made the call and you are certain of the identity of the person you are speaking to.
• Don’t give out your credit card or bank card details to strangers on the telephone.
• NEVER tell somebody your bank PIN number, even if they claim to be the bank or police. If the caller is genuine they will never ask for this information.
• Don’t give out information which may infer that you live alone, are older or vulnerable.
• Never send money to anyone who claims to have a prize or refund for you.

Please remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

* If you have received such calls and need further advice or guidance or have been a victim of such a call, please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506 for the Welsh language line please ring 03454 040505, or alternatively you can report the scam to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.