Community Safety Advice
Rochford District Council’s Community Safety Partnership (CSP)
would like to remind householders of the following advice when
buying goods or services:
- Never agree to accept any goods or service at the time that the
salesperson calls
- If his (or her) call prompts you to think that you might like
the service being offered, shop around and get a number of
quotations from different companies
- Do not be sucked in by statements such as you have been
specifically chosen etc. No you haven't – it is a sales ploy
- Do not pay a deposit until you have had time to consider the
offer in the cold light of day, read the small print etc
If you are visited by a cold calling salesperson who will not
take ‘no’ for an answer, or tries to pressure you into signing an
agreement for services or goods, report the incident to Consumer
Direct on 08454 04 05 06. A link to the Consumer Direct
website is available from the Related Links section at the bottom
of this page.
Cold Calling
Cold callers have been targeting elderly residents trying to
persuade them to have the roofs of their houses pressure
washed.
'You have won a prize' Scam
Police warning concerning a 'you have won a prize' Scam. An
elderly couple from Leigh received a series of unsolicited
telephone calls during the course of the day from a person advising
that they had won a prize of £400,000 on the basis that they had
paid their bills on time! The caller added that a film crew would
be on hand to record the presentation of the cheque.
A subsequent call is then received by the lucky winners to say
that the courier has been stopped by police en route from Preston
and advised that he required insurance to transport that sum of
money. The target of the scam is then asked to pay £1700 for the
insurance in order to get the prize money released.
The caller was described as having an African accent. He called
from number 01876 3633897 which when called back was unobtainable.
The company name was not given. The advice from both police and
Trading Standards is to view any such unsolicited call with
suspicion, to terminate the call without divulging any personal or
bank details and to contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06. A
link to the Consumer Direct website is available from the Related
Links section at the bottom of this page.
Mastercard Scam
This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA
& MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better
prepared to protect yourself.
The callers operating this scam do not ask for your card number
as they already have it. The scam works in the following way:
- The person calling gives their name and badge number and says
they are calling from the Security and Fraud Department at
VISA.
- They inform you that your card has been flagged for an unusual
purchase pattern
- They ask if you have purchased an Anti-Telemarketing Device for
£497.99 from a Marketing company based in London
- When you say 'no' they inform you that they will be crediting
your account for the amount
- The caller will ask you to verify that you are in possession of
your card, by asking you to confirm the 3 digit security numbers on
the back of your card
DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR THREE DIGIT NUMBER
Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or MasterCard directly for
verification of their conversation. The real VISA will never ask
for anything on the card as they already know the information since
they were the ones who issued the card.
If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN, you think you're
receiving a credit, However, by the time you get your statement
you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's
almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud
report.
For more information and advice please visit
the 'Buy With Confidence' and the 'Consumer Direct'
websites which can be accessed by clicking on the links below.