Beware the latest scams

With the worrying news this week that a Shetland resident was swindled out of £14,000 by a caller pretending to be from their bank, the OIC’s trading standards service is warning the public to be wary of a number of other scams targeting Orkney.

Four of the most recent scams reported are:

1.    Euromillions Commonwealth of Nations Online Lottery – Consumers have been receiving letters stating that they have definitely won £600,000.   The claims form bears a bogus London address and the recipient’s bank details are required to be provided on the form.

2.    International FIFA World Cup Online Lottery –This letter claims that the recipient is guaranteed a major prize of £900,000.  The claims form is for an address in Canary Wharf, London.

3.    Bogus Sky TV Calls – Unsolicited calls have been received claiming to be from Sky TV offering subscribers the chance to reduce their Sky Package and consequently their monthly payments.  The callers have foreign accents and are calling from a withheld telephone number.  The calls are not believed to be from Sky.

4.    BT Purchase Orders – Consumers have received email notification that the goods they have ordered from BT have been despatched. BT has confirmed that these emails are not from them and should be ignored.

Trading Standards Manager, Gary Foubister, advises:  “The addresses in London are used to make the promotions more plausible.  We however have spoken to our colleagues in those areas of London and the firms do not exist.

“We advise never giving your bank details or otherwise responding to suspect phonecalls, emails or letters.  We work closely with our partner agencies such as the Police and the Scottish Scambusters Team in raising public awareness of this type of fraud, and tackling it where possible.”

Anyone with concerns on these scams or requiring further information can contact

Trading Standards at the Council Offices on 01856 873535 or by email on trading.standards@orkney.gov.uk.