WARWICKSHIRE Trading Standards is warning residents to be aware of tax scams as complaints continue.
Fraudsters have sent letters telling residents their tax rebate applications are nearly complete, and that the business is charging a fee of nearly 50 per cent.
Trading Standards officers say residents should think twice before providing personal or financial information to any individual or business that contacts them unexpectedly.
Visit http://www.gov.uk/ for more information.
Warwickshire residents have also reported scams related to the setting up of Bitcoin accounts, whereby they have set up Bitcoin and similar accounts and transferred money to them, only for them to later turn out to be bogus.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) advises people to check companies are listed on its Register of regulated firms, and to never provide personal or financial information to unexpected cold callers.
Visit https://www.fca.org.uk for more information.
Fraudsters are also sending bogus text messages to residents’ smartphones.
The text messages purport to come from a friend or relative asking the recipient to pay an invoice.
The messages are sent from a different number, but the fraudsters state this is because the phone is new or temporary due to ‘water damage’.
Residents are advised not to respond to the messages or click on any links they contain, but to delete them immediately.
Warwickshire Trading Standards is receiving more complaints from consumers who have not received the goods or services they purchased from traders advertising on social media. Sometimes these businesses turn out to be completely bogus.
Visit https://tinyurl.com/2r6nx2vj for more information.