Current scams

Some scams to be aware of

Trading Standards have some new scams to share with you along with some repeat warnings!

•  A business has reported a concerning phone call which appears to be a scam according to Who Called Me. The caller asked for 2 non active directors and claimed the call was about another business that this company had never traded with. Businesses need to be wary too about who they are speaking to and what information they give out or act on when receiving calls out of the blue.
  
  
• A really unpleasant scam text that appears to be doing the rounds and preying on vulnerable people claims to be around a winter heating subsidy – telling you to click on a link to claim – this is a SCAM do  not click on links in texts.


• A reminder to be cautious around calls about solar energy, alleged problems with your system or an out of date warranty. If you are at all concerned about how your solar panels are performing we strongly advise contacting a local known trader who will be able to advise you. The Footprint Trust are also able to advise or signpost for any queries
  
  
• Remember that calls from 01983 numbers can still be scams, don’t just trust them because you believe they are a local caller
  
  
• We have had a report of a text purporting to come from Lloyds Pharmacy and asking you to click on a link to discuss medication. Do Not click on any links in text messages, if in doubt pick up the phone and contact the company using a number you have found yourself
  
  
• Be aware of deep fake videos encouraging you to purchase products or invest money. Scammers are using famous faces to persuade us that their scheme is trustworthy, the famous faces will know nothing about this and would be deeply upset to know that their image was being used in this way. Just because a well known face is telling you to purchase something or invest money it doesn’t make it genuine, in fact its more likely to be a scam as celebrities don’t tend to endorse this type of thing.
  
  
• Another report of a scam notice stuck to an IOW Council parking meter, it directed the user to a website to make a payment to what looked like paybyphoneuk website however this turned out to be a scam and the payment went to a sports company and the payment was in euros. Luckily the user noticed and was able to cancel their card before any further payments could be taken.
The most recent scam reported is a text claiming to be from the DWP stating that they have decided to pay you a winter allowance of £200 or £300 – this is a SCAM – DO NOT click on the link

Be wary when receiving emails, texts and messages. Remember, genuine organisations will never ask you to click on links in messages or ask for your bank details.

How to report

• Scam texts can be forwarded to 7726
• Scam emails can be forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk
  When you report a suspicious email the automatic reply gives you some interesting statistics and shows how important it is to report scams. As of June 2024 - reports received – 32,897,230 with the removal of more than 184,500 scams across 337,672 URL’s

'No cold calling' stickers

• 'No cold calling' stickers are available by emailing trading.standards@iow.gov.uk.