Suffolk Trading Standards protecting against scammers
Suffolk Trading Standards has become a beacon of hope for victims of financial scams, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Paul Miles, who took on the role of fraud protection and prevention officer earlier this year.
Paul has made a remarkable impact, often working with individuals who feel understandably shaken by their encounters with fraud, and has helped protect some of the county’s most vulnerable residents from losing their life savings to fraudsters.
A recent case showcases his work. Trading Standards were contacted by a 90 year old Suffolk resident in September following a call he had received from a company that informed him his insulation needed to be checked, as the company that installed it had gone out of business. The resident agreed to a free loft inspection. When the company arrived, they advised that remedial work would be required to issue a compliance certificate and that it would cost £15,000. The resident paid £5,000 deposit on his credit card and the company insisted that he sign away his cancellation rights so that they could start straight away.
The resident called Trading Standards as he felt that he may have been duped, as the whole process had been very pushy.
Paul helped the resident cancel the contract and organised for the money to be returned to him via his bank. Paul also put the gentleman in contact with an insulation company listed on the Suffolk Trusted Trader directory (all members are Trading Standards Approved), which visited him and carried out some remedial work, reassuring him that the installed insulation was adequate.
The resident was receiving a high number of scam and marketing calls each day, so Paul installed a TrueCall call blocker on their landline to block them. He has also initiated the process to make the road a No Cold Calling Zone to further protect residents and their neighbours from rogue traders.
Scammers prey on the vulnerable and unwary, so please educate and look after elderly relatives, friends and neighbours.
How to spot a scam
Scammers will:
- contact you out of the blue
- ask for personal or financial details
- put you under pressure to respond quickly
- ask you to keep their offer a secret
- make promises that sound too good to be true.
You should:
- verify their identity
- look out for grammatical or spelling mistakes
- never give out your bank details
- never send money to someone you don’t know
- say no to persuasive sales talk.
To report a scam: visit the Suffolk County Council website.
Preventing residents and businesses from becoming victims of crime, including fraud, is a key priority for Suffolk Trading Standards, which has a number of initiatives to help those who live and work in Suffolk avoid falling victim to a scam or fraudster.
If you would like to ask about providing a talk on scams to a local group or about an educational event, you can get in touch with them via email on tradingstandards@suffolk.gov.uk. Suffolk Trading Standards works in partnership with Suffolk Police and HSBC to deliver prevention advice at these events.
Useful resources:
www.suffolk.gov.uk/community-and-safety/suffolk-trading-standards/scams
suffolkwestcab.org.uk/scams-awareness
www.suffolk.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information