Sutton Trading Standards is warning residents to be wary of Christmas scams.
Residents are being told to use particular caution when purchasing Christmas presents online. Several complaints have been made relating to goods either being of poor quality or not being delivered. Buyers are advised to only buy from reputable sites and to use the PayPal payment system where possible.
Cllr Simon Wales, Executive Member for Communities, Transport and Voluntary Sector, said: “With the festive season nearly upon us, scammers will deploy plenty of different tactics to try and con residents. However by being careful, aware of common scams and questioning anything suspicious, you can avoid being tricked.“If you suspect a fraud – please contact Consumer Direct, they will pass on relevant information to the Council and Police, which will allow us to track down the perpetrators.”
E-mails have also being circulating about a parcel-delivery con which tricks people into calling a premium rate phone number.
The fraud involves a card being posted to homes, purportedly from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service), suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that they need to be contacted on 0906 6611911. If the premium number is called and a recorded message starts to play, the caller will already be billed at least £315.
Following information from PhonePay Plus, the regulator of phone-paid services, Trading Standards have reassured residents that this information relates to a scam that last occurred in 2005 and have advised that the e-mail should not be forwarded.
Cllr Simon Wales, added: “Although the scam detailed in this e-mail is no longer running – you should always treat with caution anything that encourages you to call a 0900 or 0906 premium rate number.”
If you have a complaint related to a website please call Consumer Direct on 0845 4040506 or visit www.consumerdirect.gov.uk. |.
For more information please visit www.sutton.gov.uk/tradingstandards|
Posted on Wednesday 24th November 2010