People in Gedling borough are being warned to be wary of a phone scam which could see them conned out of cash.
The calls are coming from a company claiming to be with the Telephone Preference Service.
A councillor at Nottinghamshire County Council was one of the people who received a call to his landline.
Councillor Glynn Gilfoyle, Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Community Safety Committee, which covers Trading Standards, recently received a call on his landline.
He said: “I thought it was strange as the caller said he was from the Telephone Preference Service and was asking me to verify my credit card details in a very clever way, even though this service is free.
“They slipped in questions about my credit card details they claimed to have on their system and were fishing for me to confirm figures which I didn’t do.
READ MORE:
“As I hear about these type of scams through my Trading Standards role I was suspicious straight away, but residents should never give any credit or debit details to telephone cold callers no matter who they say they are.”
There were 70 complaints from Nottinghamshire residents about scams in the last year, which included telephone scams.
Councillor Gilfoyle added: “Although the number of complaints we receive about scams is quite low, we know the actual figures are much higher as people are afraid or embarrassed to tell us about the issue.
“It’s likely that the scammers who contacted me are targeting other Nottinghamshire residents so people need to be on their guard.”
The Telephone Preference Service is free and allows people to register their wish not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls. It is a legal requirement that companies do not make such calls to registered numbers.
Scams Awareness Month 2016 is taking place this month (July) across the UK which is being spearheaded by Citizen’s Advice and supported by other organisations including Trading Standards teams in England and Wales. Scams Awareness Month is a chance to share knowledge and to give consumers the confidence to spot scams and stop scams all year round.
For more information on the Telephone Preference Service telephone 0345 070 0707 or visit www.tpsonline.org.uk
Residents who have concerns over cold calling should call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506.
