POLICE & POWYS TRADING STANDARDS RINGMASTER NOTICES
Total = 31 (from 01 July 2011)
Please pass these messages on to your family and friends and be on your guard
BOGUS MAGAZINE ADVERTISING (New 14 Dec 2011)
Police are advising the general public to be on their guard in
relation to telephone calls asking local businesses to take out advertising in a
magazine.
The phone calls state that they are working in partnership with the police and
the latest report is that they were asking for a payment of £75.
This is not connected to the police and we would advise not to give out any
details over the phone.
BOGUS PPI RECLAIMS (New 8 Dec 2011)
Trading Standards are warning Residents and Businesses in Powys
to be on their guard against text messages and unsolicited telephone calls by
companies saying you are owed thousands of pounds in PPI claims.
The caller asks for bank details and says for a one-off fee they can claim back
thousands of pounds for miss-sold PPI. Many of these companies are not
legitimate and no bank details should be given over the phone.
For further details ring your local Trading Standards. Please contact us with
any information about such activties.
FREE HOME SAFETY FIRE CHECK (New 5 Dec 2011)
This is a message from Powys Community Safety Partnership and Mid
and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service
In order to reduce the incidence of accidental dwelling fires within its area,
the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has embarked upon an ambitious
programme of Home Fire Safety Checks.
Firefighters and community fire safety staff from the service will now visit
domestic properties to provide home fire safety advice and will supply and
install a smoke alarm free of charge. A home fire safety check takes about
an hour to complete and is generally undertaken by two Fire Service
representatives.
You can request a free home fire safety check for yourself or a dependent
relative by contacting the Service on
0800 169 1234
Or by sending an e-mail request to your local Fire Service office via
www.mawwfire.gov.uk
BOGUS POLICE CALLS (New 5 Dec 2011)
Police are advising the general public to be on their guard in relation to telephone calls reporting to be form the police and asking for support with a Christmas Drink Drive Campaign. This is not connected to the police and we would advise not to give out any personal details over the phone.
BOGUS NATIONAL LOTTERY CALLS (New 5 Dec 2011)
Police are advising the public to be suspicious of any phone
calls alleging to be from the National Lottery and stating that they have won
money.
Police have received reports of Asian males contacting people and stating that
they have won 7,000 Euros and asking for bank details to pay the winnings into.
Dyfed Powys Police advises not to give out any bank details over the phone.
COMPUTER VIRUS SCAM (New 5 Dec 2011)
The
public should be aware of falling victim to a computer virus scam. A company
will make an unsolicited (cold) call informing you that your computer has been
affected by a spyware virus. They may claim to work in partnership with
Microsoft. Please do not
allow them remote access onto your computer
- they will down load a virus that disables your current computer protection.
They will also ask for bank details for a charge of £140.
Besides being a scam to obtain money by deception, it will also be necessary to
get your computer cleaned by a professional to ensure that the viruses are
removed, which is costly. Do not provide personal or bank details to cold
callers over the phone.
The public are advised not to respond to these calls. Consumer Advice is
available from 0808 156 6757. Please inform us of any such incidents
SCAM ELECTRICITY SAVING DEVICE (New 22 Nov 2011)
Police are
advising members of the public to be cautious of telephone cold callers who are
selling a plug in device to reduce the amount of electricity used in the home or
business. This has been reported as a scam.
Police further advise members of the public not to provide personal or banking
details to unsolicited callers.
If telephone calls are received, please report them to Consumer Direct,
Telephone Number, 08454 04 05 06.
BOGUS BT CALLS (New 16 Nov 2011)
Trading
Standards are advising the public to be aware of a company purporting to be BT.
They claim that there is outstanding money owed on your account.
The public are advised not to provide bank details to any cold callers. If you
are unsure if the call is from a genuine reputable company then end the call and
call them back on their publicised telephone number.
Please contact us on 101 with any information about such calls
SCAM CALLS TO OBTAIN PERSONAL DETAILS (New 16 Nov 2011)
Trading
Standards are advising the public of a telephone scam involving callers trying
to extract information about health and spending habits.
The public are advised to be wary of any calls of this nature and are reminded
never to give out personal information including bank details to cold callers.
Please contact us on 101 with any information about such calls.
SHOPLIFTERS ACTIVE IN POWYS (New 08 Nov 2011)
Shopkeepers are advised
to be aware that shoplifters have been in our area. They have stolen champagne
from a convenience store in the Builth Wells area.
Description of 4 males involved: Eastern European appearance, all in late 20's
or early 30's, wearing black jackets, 2 of which are described as being bomber
jackets. One male is wearing camouflage shorts and trainers.
Please contact Dyfed Powys Police on non emergency number of 101.
BOGUS ADVERTISING OFFER (Repeat Entry Effective 01 Nov 2011 - Original Entry Deleted)
Police are
advising the general public to be on their guard in relation to telephone calls
asking local businesses to take out advertising in a magazine. The phone calls
state that they are working in partnership with the police and the latest report
is that they were asking for a payment of £140.
This is not connected to the police and we would advise not to give out any
details over the phone.
Please contact us with any information on 101.
THEFT FROM BUILDING SITES AND WORKS DEPOTS (New 01 Nov 2011)
Thieves are currently targeting new builds and renovation projects along with work depots where a variety of material is being taken. Recent items taken include velux windows, marble fire surrounds, diesel, copper piping, any metal of value and tools ranging from hand tools through to larger items including cement mixers and generators.
Please make
a note of any serial numbers or other identifying marks on your property and
report anything you feel may be suspicious to us on telephone number: 101.
FRAUD STOCK SALE OFFERS (New 01 Nov 2011)
Consumers
are warned to be careful when responding to advertisements that appear to be
selling goods at cheap prices as a result of businesses going into
administration and having excess stock.
Residents of Powys are warned to be wary of paying cash for products on the
doorstep and advised to carry out price comparisons and checks on traders before
entering into contracts.
Consumer Advice is available from 0808 1566757.
Please contact us with any information on 101.
REPORT ROGUE TRADERS (New 19 Oct 2011)
Dyfed-Powys Police and
Trading standards are asking residents and businesses to report any suspicious
rogue trader activity in Powys today to assist the police and trading standards
operations.
Any suspicious activity is to be reported to the the Police on 101 or Trading
standards on 01597 826031
SCAM CALLS ABOUT PREVENTION OF NUISANCE PHONE CALLS (New 18 Oct 2011)
Please be aware of a
telephone scam involving callers claiming to be from a company engaged in
preventing nuisance phone calls.
The public are advised to be wary of any telephone calls of this nature and are
reminded never to give out personal information including bank details to cold
callers.
Please contact us with any information or click the following link:
http://ringmaster.powys.gov.uk/rmwebportal/replytomesg.aspx?mesg_id=cb34379d-66e3-4025-9f57-76da4353579b&email=-1&web=-1
POSTAL SCAM
The Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the
following scam:
A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel
Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that
you need to contact the m on 0906 6611911 (a Premium rate number).
DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize .
If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already
have been billed
£315 for the phone call.
If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact
Royal Mail Fraud on 020 7239 6655.
For more information, see the Crime Stoppers website:
http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/crime-prevention/helping-prevent-crime/scams/postal-delivery-scam
DRIVEWAY RESURFACING SCAM. (New 12 Oct 2011)
Powys residents are
advised to be aware of companies cold calling offering to resurface driveways
The prices being charged are stated to be a reduction from the traders normal
price as they claim to have some material left over. Recent reports of such
contractors have been received in the Llanfair Caereinion area.
Residents are reminded that should they wish to contract for such works it is
advisable to find out a full contract price, ensure cancellation rights are
offered and shown on documentation and to shop around with other companies as
well as obtaining feedback.
We advise residents to report suspicious activity to the local Police on 101 or
to their local Powys Trading Standards office and quote nc/12/10
SCAM PPI CLAIM CALLS (New 6 Oct 2011)
Calls
are being made which are a scam requesting recipients to press a number on the
telephone keypad possibly in relation to ppi claims (personal protection
insurance) cold calling.
Dyfed Powys Police would advise the public not to press any number requested as
this may incur recipient with an unwanted cost .
COMPUTER VIRUS SCAM (New 30 Aug 2011)
This is a ring master message sent by Powys Trading Standards advising the public to be aware of falling victim to a computer virus scam. The company, will make an unsolicited (cold) call informing you that your computer has been affected by a spy ware virus, they may claim to work in partnership with Microsoft. Please do not allow them remote access onto your computer, they will down load the virus, which disables your current computer protection. They will also ask for bank details for a charge of £140.
Besides being a scam to obtain money by deception. You will also have to get
your computer cleaned by a professional to ensure that down loaded viruses are
removed at an additional cost.
Do not provide personal or bank details to cold callers over the phone.
The public are advised not to respond to these calls. Consumer Advice is
available from 0808 1566757.
BOGUS CAR CLAMPING FINE (New 30 Aug 2011)
Police are advising people to be aware of a possible scam after
receiving a report from a member of the general public who parked in a disabled
bay in a public car park.
On returning to the vehicle a notice had been displayed from Amtrac Security
stating that the vehicle had been immobilised and clamped and to release the
clamp there would be a fee of £50 plus vat. The notice gave a contact number in
Truro to ring 01872 560118. The vehicle had not been clamped.
Anyone receiving such a notice is advised to contact Dyfed Powys Police on 01267
222020.
FRAUDULENT MONEY EXCHANGE (New 30 AUG 2011)
Dyfed Powys Police are asking the public to be aware of a
possible scam.
We have received a report from a store in Newtown regarding an Asian female
described as 5ft 6, slim with long black hair attempting to change £200 worth of
£10 notes into £20 notes and trying to confuse the Shop Assistant
ILLEGAL FISH SELLING (New 30 Aug 2011)
Residents and businesses in Powys are advised to be extra careful
if approached by itinerant fish sellers.
Recent reports of such sellers have been received in the north of the county.
We advise residents not to deal with itinerant sellers and to report suspicious
activity to the police on 101 or to their local trading standards office
BEWARE OF ITINERANT CONTRACTORS (Travellers) (New 19 Aug 2011)
Residents and businesses in Powys are advised to be
extra careful if approached by itinerant contractors offering to do gardening,
hedge trimming or carry out other home improvements. Recent reports of such
contractors have been received in the north of the county.
We advise residents not to deal with itinerant sellers and to report suspicious
activity to the local Police on 101 or their local Powys Trading Standards
office.
SCAM MONEY PRIZES (New 18 Aug 2011)
Powys trading standards are warning the public to be aware of letters from Loteria Primitiva that advise the recipient that they have won large sums of money. These letters often ask the recipient to send money to an address on the grounds that they will receive a large sum of money in return. Disregard these scam letters and avoid giving out any personal or bank details.
SCAM ROOF CLEANING CONTRACTS (New 18 Aug 2011)
Powys residents are advised to be aware of companies cold calling
offering to clean and coat your roof. The prices being charged seem to be
extortionate for the work being carried out. Recent reports of such contractors
have been received in the Welshpool area.
Residents are reminded that should they wish to contract for such cleaning works
it is advisable to find out a full contract price, ensure cancellation rights
are offered and shown on documentation and to shop around with other companies
as well as obtaining feedback.
We advise residents to report suspicious activity to the local Police on 101 or
to their local Powys Trading Standards office.
BOGUS BANK CALLS (New 02 Aug 2011) - See similar entry on 27 July 2011 below
Trading Standards have been
alerted to a telephone scam in which the caller claims to be from the bank and
that the householder is due a refund. In order to receive a refund the caller
asks for £199 to process the forms. Trading Standards would advise householders
to be aware of this scam and to avoid giving personal or bank details over the
phone.
To Report a scam call 0808 1566757
TRAVELLING SALESMEN (New 30 July 2011)
Trading Standards advise consumers to beware of
itinerants / doorstep sellers attempting to sell goods such as memory foam
mattresses in the area.
We advise residents not to have contract with itinerant sellers and to report
suspicious activity to the local Police on 101 or their local Powys Trading
Standards office.
BOGUS BANK CALLS (New 27 July 2011)
Powys residents are warned
to be aware of an ongoing telephone scam from callers claiming to be from the
bank and that the householder is entitled to around £4000 of overpayments.
We would ask householders to be aware of any phone calls claiming to be from
banks or financial institutions and not to give personal details or bank details
away over the telephone.
For consumer advice or to report a scam contact 08081566757.
BOGUS TV SALES (New 6 July 2011)
Residents are warned to be
on their guard against cold-callers offering catalogue return televisions for
sale. Two men travelling in a white transit type van have been offering TV's in
the Llyswen area recently.
Trading Standards advice is to think carefully before purchasing a TV in this
manner. If it proves to be faulty it could be very difficult to contact the
sellers once they have left the premises.
Bogus Callers offering reduced Electricity Bills (New 6 July 2011)
Householders and businesses
are warned to be on their guard against cold-callers offering to reduce
electricity bills. The callers request bank details with the promise of sending
a free energy plug and quoting at least £50 off the next bill. The telephone
numbers are often withheld and are from international caller ID's.
Current advice is to ignore these calls and do not provide any bank details over
the phone.
For further details ring the Police on 101 or your local Trading Standards.
BOGUS TELEPHONE CALLS ASKING FOR MONEY (New 4 July 2011)
Powys Trading Standards is warning of bogus telephone calls made to members of the public. The caller claims to be representing an organisation called Powys Crime Partnership and asks for financial assistance to fight knife crime in the area.
The calls are made from
withheld numbers and members of the public are urged not to provide any
financial details or engage in any conversation with these callers.