A warning has been issued to WhatsApp users in Gedling borough after reports of a new scam emerged where scammers attempt to impersonate family members to steal money.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) put out the warning today (September 3) following reports of the startling scam.

The woman called Alison, received a message on the popular messaging platform which said: “Hi mum, I’ve dropped my phone down the loo (sad emoji) this is my new number.”

Alison replied to the message and asked if it was her son, Will, to which the scammer replied in the affirmative.

The following day, Alison’s ‘son’ messaged her asking for £2,600 and explained that he had got mixed up with loan sharks and needed to pay up. Alison didn’t doubt the message for a moment.

Alison tried to call her ‘son’ back, but the person on the other end kept saying they couldn’t take the call and continually put pressure on her to make the payment quickly.

This worried Alison, who agreed to make the payment. The person gave the bank details of the alleged loan shark to pay.

Fortunately for Alison, she forgot to click the final payment confirmation and, after some time, the scammer messaged asking for a picture to prove the payment had been made. This caused a wave of scepticism in Alison’s mind, and then it was confirmed that the message was indeed a scam.

CTSI Lead Officer, Katherine Hart said: “This is not the first time I have seen this type of message, which is highly deceptive. Scammers are experts at exploiting the emotional vulnerability of the public, and this is a particularly insidious example of it.

“When receiving a message out of the blue like this, always be suspicious and doubly so when money is involved. Alison did the right thing by trying to call the number to verify, but as we see, fraudsters are skilled at influencing quick action, and she almost lost money to it.

“Please always report suspicious texts by forwarding them to 7726 – a free service by Ofcom which enables authorities to analyse messages and build a full picture of this enormous problem.”

CTSI Chief Executive, John Herriman, said: “This WhatsApp scam demonstrates that consumers have never been so instantly vulnerable.

“The Government and regulators must be prepared for the rapidly evolving threats presented by advancing communications technologies and techniques, and the trading standards profession plays a key role in developing that consumer protection framework.”

For consumer advice, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133

The public is encouraged to join Friends Against Scams, a National Trading Standards initiative that protects and prevents people from becoming scam victims by empowering them to take a stand against scams.

This topic and many others related to consumer protection will be discussed at this year’s CTSI Symposium, 28-30 September 2021 at Birmingham’s Eastside Rooms. Click this link for more information about CTSI Symposium.

Lidl is giving away £10,000 in cash to one lucky shopper to mark their 1st Birthday of the Lidl Plus app.

Savvy shoppers who visit the store between Thursday (Sept 2) and Sunday (Sept 5) could be in with a chance of winning £10,000.

Customers will have the opportunity to enter a free birthday prize draw every time they shop.

Shoppers will earn one entry when they spend £1 or more and scan their Lidl Plus card. This entry can then be submitted in the app for a chance to win £10,000. What’s more, 50 runners up will win a £50 Lidl Plus shopping coupon to spend during the weekly shop.

To be in with a chance to win this amazing prize, customers simply need to download the Lidl Plus app and follow the on-screen instructions.

As well as the chance to win big prizes, Lidl Plus customers can use the app to get access to exclusive discounts, view digital receipts and browse weekly leaflets and seasonal magazines. 

Christian Härtnagel, CEO at Lidl GB, said: “Our customers know that we offer the best quality products at market leading prices.

“We designed Lidl Plus so we can provide an even better, tailored, shopping experience for our customers, as well as to thank them for their loyalty.

“It’s been great to see so many Lidl fans making full use of the app in the last year – whether it’s getting up to £12 off every month with Coupon Plus or enjoying great discounts on products every week. We can’t wait to bring savings to even more customers in the future.”

Lidl Plus is available to download now from the App Store and Google Play. 

Patient records from surgeries across Gedling borough will from today (September 1) start being uploaded to a new system which gathers data held by GPs and feed it into a central NHS database.

The brand-new system called the General Practice Data for Planning and Research, or GPDPR, will then share this data with third parties for research and development.

Patient information – going back over the past 10 years – will be transferred to the database.

Patients were given the opportunity to opt out of sharing their data, with an initial deadline of September 1, but this has since changed.

The electronic database will hold incredibly sensitive data, such as mental health, sexual health and criminal records.

While this data will be made anonymous with unique identification codes, the NHS will be able to access the original data showing patients’ names  – where there is a valid legal reason to do so.

This has raised concerns around privacy, as Ruby Ashby, associate in Nelsons’ expert dispute resolution team, discusses.

According to the NHS, the new system will help to reduce the burden on GP practices, allowing doctors and other staff to focus on patient care, with the data being used to support a wide variety of research and analysis that will help to run and improve services.

The NHS has made it clear that anyone had the right to opt-out if they wished to do so, with an initial cut-off date of September 1.

However, changes have been introduced since then which will allow introduced patients to change their ‘opt-in’ status at any time.

Is GPDPR compliant with data protection legislation?

From a data protection standpoint, it’s necessary to question whether GPDPR conforms with UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) legislation and the Data Protection Act 2018. One concern is that a majority of patients won’t have given their explicit consent to the sharing of data, with many potentially being completely unaware of the plans.

While this is a valid point, it is important to understand that consent is not always required. Consent is only one lawful basis for processing data and there are an additional five that allow an organisation to lawfully process data without consent. As a public body, the NHS will be able to process the data without people’s consent if the processing is regarded as being in the public’s interest.

Another concern is that, while patients will be identified with unique codes, the NHS will be able to access the original data that shows the patients’ names. The use of codes rather than names is known as pseudonymisation. This is a commonly used technique in the processing of data, which means that individuals can’t be identified from the data itself and only by referring to other information held separately.

Therefore, the NHS will need to take care that the additional information that can identify the individual is kept separately, with relevant controls in place, to ensure it’s not possible to re-identify the patient, except for in very specific circumstances as permitted by UK GDPR.

For more information on data protection, please visit https://www.nelsonslaw.co.uk/business-agreements-contracts/data-protection-solicitor/data-breach-compensation/