Month: July 2022

Heatwave Warning – Monday 18 July and Tuesday 19 July

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The Met Office has issued a red warning of extreme heat for Monday and Tuesday – the highest level – which covers an area including London, Manchester and York.

People have been asked to look out for vulnerable relatives and neighbours who may be suffering in the heat.

Met Office and Department of Health Advice:

  • Stay out of the sun.
  • Keep your home cool.
  • Think about adjusting your plans for the warning period.
  • If you do have to go out, wear a hat and sunscreen, keep in the shade as much as possible and carry water.
  • Don’t leave people or animals in hot cars and keep a particular lookout for your family and neighbours, especially vulnerable people.

Be on the Alert for signs of Dehydration and Heat Exhaustion

The signs of heat exhaustion include:

  • a headache
  • dizziness and confusion
  • loss of appetite and feeling sick
  • excessive sweating and pale, clammy skin
  • cramps in the arms, legs and stomach
  • fast breathing or pulse
  • a high temperature of 38C or above
  • being very thirsty

The symptoms are often the same in adults and children, although children may become floppy and sleepy.

If someone is showing signs of heat exhaustion, they need to be cooled down.

If someone has heat exhaustion, follow these 4 steps:

  1. Move them to a cool place.
  2. Get them to lie down and raise their feet slightly.
  3. Get them to drink plenty of water. Sports or rehydration drinks are OK.
  4. Cool their skin – spray or sponge them with cool water and fan them. Cold packs around the armpits or neck are good, too.

Stay with them until they’re better.

They should start to cool down and feel better within 30 minutes.

How you can reduce the risk of dehydration

  • Drink fluids when you feel any dehydration symptoms.
  • If you find it hard to drink because you feel sick or have been sick, start with small sips and then gradually drink more.
  • You can use a spoon to make it easier for your child to swallow the fluids.
  • You should drink enough during the day so your pee is a pale clear colour.
  • Drink when there’s a higher risk of dehydrating. For example, if you’re vomiting, sweating or you have diarrhoea.

To help prevent heat exhaustion or heatstroke:

  • drink plenty of cold drinks, especially when exercising
  • take cool baths or showers
  • wear light-coloured, loose clothing
  • sprinkle water over skin or clothes
  • avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm
  • avoid excess alcohol
  • avoid extreme exercise

This will also prevent dehydration and help your body keep itself cool.

Keep an eye on children, the elderly and people with long-term health conditions (like diabetes or heart problems) because they’re more at risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Trading Standards Alert – Upfront Payment Scams

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Think Carefully before You Pay – Avoid Advance Fee Scams

Advance fee fraud is when scammers persuade victims to pay in advance or make upfront payments for goods, services and/or financial gains that do not materialise.

There are a huge variety of such scams, some common examples are:

  • Career opportunity scams happen when people respond to job adverts posted by fraudsters. They start with a consultation but then require an upfront fee. Examples are bogus publishers, model and casting agencies all promising to launch a person’s career.
  • Romance scams where fraudsters create a fake persona who builds a relationship with their victim over time. Once they are trusted they will make emotive requests for money from their victim claiming it is to pay for medical care, or visa and travel costs to visit the victim, etc. They will always find excuses not to meet the victim in person, but will maintain the relationship and continue to make requests for money from them.
  • Fraud recovery scams are when someone who has been a victim of fraud in the past is contacted again by scammers. They pretend to be the police or a government agency that can help recover the money that was lost in the first scam, but they the victim to pay a fee to get it back, for example claiming that it is tax to be paid to HMRC before the money can be refunded to the victim.
  • Loan scams happen when a victim is asked to pay an upfront fee for a loan with the guarantee that it will be approved whatever their credit history; however, they must pay an upfront fee to cover insurance for the loan. But once paid, the scammers cease communication and the loan is never received.
  • Rental fraud happens when would-be tenants are tricked into paying an upfront fee to rent a property. The property doesn’t exist, is already let, or has been apparently rented out to multiple victims at the same time. The victim loses the upfront fee they have paid and fails to secure the property.

For advice on identifying and avoiding advance fee scams, go to: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/advance-fee-fraud

You can find out more about scams by going to:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/our-work/our-campaigns/awareness-raising-campaigns/scams-awareness-campaign-2022/

Trading Standards Alert – Premium Rate Numbers Scam

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Premium Rate Numbers are still lucrative for Scammers.

Premium Number Scams are designed to trick you into making calls to premium rate numbers.

Watch out for the common premium number scam techniques:

  • Your phone shows a missed call from a number you don’t recognise. When you call it back you may find yourself connected to a premium rate service costing up to £15 per call.
  • You may get a pre-recorded message asking you to ring a number to claim a prize. This second number may be a premium rate one and worse still, your prize may be nothing more than a ringtone subscription.
  • If you’ve bought a mobile phone recently, you may receive a call from a scammer to sell you phone insurance, pretending that they are calling from your mobile phone network or the retailer you bought the phone from. You may pay for worthless insurance and pass on your personal details.
  • Ring tone scams offer free or low cost ring tones. However, you may then find that you have subscribed to a service that will keep sending you ring tones and charging a premium rate for them.

If you’ve been victim to a premium rate number scam:

  • Tell your mobile phone provider.
  • Notify PhonepayPlus (www.phonepayplus.org.uk), who regulate premium numbers and can stop mobile phone frauds.
  • Text the word STOP to the subscription number, the sender is legally obliged to stop sending text messages immediately. If they don’t, contact PhonepayPlus (www.phonepayplus.org.uk), who will investigate.

You can find out more about scams by going to:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/our-work/our-campaigns/awareness-raising-campaigns/scams-awareness-campaign-2022/

 

Trading Standards Alert – Plastic Card Scams

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Scams can take many forms and one prominent scam involves the use of credit cards. This is where customers give credit card details to buy a genuine product/service and those details are sold to a scammer. The scammer sets up a fraudulent purchase of, for example, an expensive mobile phone. They then send you something of no or little value by tracked delivery so that when you challenge the purchase, they have a delivery receipt.

Plastic card fraud can include frauds perpetrated by use of a card online, over the phone or by mail order, and counterfeit card fraud.

Protect yourself against plastic card fraud

Keep all your cards and financial details safe:

  • always look after your cards and card details. Try not to let your card out of your sight when making a transaction.
  • check receipts against statements carefully. Contact your card company immediately if you find an unfamiliar transaction.
  • store your statements, receipts and financial documents safely and destroy them, preferably using a shredder, when you dispose of them.
  • sign any new cards as soon as they arrive.
  • cut expired cards through the magnetic strip and chip when replacement cards arrive.

Secure your PIN:

  • memorise your PIN and destroy any paper notification as soon as you receive it.
  • ensure that you’re the only person that knows your PIN. Never write it down or record it. Your bank or the police will never phone you and ask you to disclose your PIN.
  • when entering your PIN, use your free hand and your body to shield the number from prying eyes or hidden cameras. If you think someone has seen your PIN or if you want to change it to something more memorable, you can change it at a cash machine (ATM) or by contacting your bank.

Take care when using cash machines:

  • put your personal safety first. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, cancel the transaction and use a different machine.
  • if you spot anything unusual about the cash machine, or if there are signs of tampering, don’t use it. Report it to the bank concerned immediately.
  • be alert. If someone is crowding or watching you, cancel the transaction and go to another machine. Don’t accept help from seemingly well-meaning strangers and never allow yourself to be distracted.
  • once you’ve completed a transaction, put your money and card away before leaving the cash machine. If the cash machine doesn’t return your card, report its loss immediately to your card company. Destroy or preferably shred your cash machine receipt, mini-statement or balance enquiry when you dispose of them.

Contact your bank immediately if you think your card or personal information has been compromised.

If fraud has been committed, report it to Action Fraud 0300 123 2040 https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime.