Related Articles
A local government partner have issued warnings to resident s about scamming this winter.
Public Protection Partnership (PPP) is a shared service delivering Environmental Health, Licensing and Trading Standards across Bracknell Forest, West Berkshire and Wokingham Borough Councils, have revealed 12 scams to look out for this Christmastime.
We have listed them below, including some tips on what you should be looking for from PPP.
You can find more information for each point here on the official PPP website.
- Look-Alike Websites-: These are when scammers set up a near-identical website to a legitimate one in the hope of getting the consumer to enter personal details.
To protect themselves, consumers should “only enter sensitive information into a website that begins with “https” as the “s” informs you that it’s secure and information entered is encrypted” and “review the sender’s address, as businesses will often send emails with a proprietary address, like @bbb.org.”
- Fake help Scam – These are when scammers send out emails and text messages asking for help, usually involving sums of money exchanging bank accounts. To protect themselves, consumers should “check with other family members to see if the claims are true” and “be wary if you’re asked to wire money or send gift cards in place of making a payment with a credit card.”
- Temporary Holiday Jobs – This is when scammers set up job adverts in the hope of acquiring personal details from the applicant.
- To protect themselves, consumers should “be suspicious of a job that requires you to pay for equipment or software upfront.”
- Unusual Forms of Payments – The PPP say “When making your Christmas purchases be wary of anyone asking for a strange form of payment as they often can’t be traced or undone.”
- Fake Charities– This is when scammers set up fake charities with the hope that consumers will donate to what appears to be a good cause when it is actually their bank account. The PPP suggest that you verify your charity at: https://www.fundraisingpreference.org.uk/ or https://www.gov.uk/find-charity-information
- Parcel Scams- These were doing the rounds lots in the lockdown, but usually involves a fake Royal Mail link saying that you owe money for failing to pick up a parcel. The link is not to the Royal Mail but to a scammer.
- Puppy Scams- Who can resist a cute photo of a puppy and the promise of many years of a loyal dog by your side? Exactly, nobody. This makes it an easy target for scammers trying to lure away the hard-earned cash.
To avoid this, the PPP website said: “Do an image search online of the photo given of your pet. If multiple websites pop-up, it’s probably a scam.”
- Pop up Shops/Websites– The PPP said: “Many new websites often fake copies of legitimate ones pop up on the run up to Christmas and emails may be received advertising them. Review the sender’s address, as businesses will often send emails with a proprietary address like @legitimate.com.”
- Lottery Ticket- Make sure double check your numbers, and the official telephone number, before giving any details.
- Investment Scams– The PPP said: “beware too good to be true returns on investments if you want to invest make sure the company is registered on the FCA website. Be especially aware of overseas investments don’t use bitcoin as it is irretrievable once sent.”
- Bank and Police Scam– Always be wary of people trying to impersonate the bank or the police. If something sounds suspicious, hang up.
- Romance Scams– Always be wary when talking to people you do not know on dating sites.
Find out more at https://publicprotectionpartnership.org.uk/
