The TTA has been contacted by a number of members recently, who have become aware of new scams doing the rounds currently. Unfortunately one or two businesses have fallen victim to these.
Be alert – do not become a victim!
There have been several reported incidents of people buying tiles with stolen cards. Sometime these are suspicious and are easily spotted, but the unlucky retailer can lose out on both the cost of the stock and the actual sale amount. There have also been cases of fraudulent overpaid cheques being presented – the retailer is then asked to refund the overpayment.
Look out for these patterns:
- Delivery and billing addresses are different;
- The delivery addresses have tended to be north and northwest Manchester;
- Suspicious orders have involved Outlook email address and email addresses to do with gardens or design;
- Other members have reported that all the suspicious ‘orders’ they have received were over the phone;
- One member reported that all the mobile numbers have started 07729 753 with the last three digits being different.
If you think you have been a victim, or intended victim of this sort of crime, you can inform the police at http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ and quote the following crime number: NFRC161201657715.
Don’t be a victim of crime this Christmas!
