Warning to households in Nottinghamshire as millions lost to lockdown scams

Households in Nottinghamshire are urged to be vigilant against cold callers, suspicious messages and rogue traders after a growing number of new scams have emerged during lockdown.
By Lucy Roberts
Published 24th Feb 2021, 10:09 BST
An OFTEC technician with his ID card.An OFTEC technician with his ID card.
An OFTEC technician with his ID card.

The warning comes after it was revealed more than £4.6million was lost to scams during the first lockdown in March 2020, with reports of fraudulent cold calls increasing by nearly 50 per cent compared to the previous year.

There are also concerns that households struggling financially during the pandemic may be lured in by promises of cheaper prices from scammers and unqualified tradespeople, potentially putting them at risk of shoddy work in the home and expensive repair bills.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In response, OFTEC, a registration body for off-gas grid heating, is raising awareness of the types of scams taking place during lockdown and how households in Nottinghamshire can protect themselves from unscrupulous activity.

These include:

Text scams. More than 275 Covid financial scams have been detected during lockdown. Any message which asks for your card details to claim government grants are fraudulent and should be deleted immediately.

Telephone scams. HMRC has responded to more than 300,000 reports of phone scams.

Email scams. More than 11,000 people believe they have fallen victim to a ‘phishing’ email during lockdown which seek to obtain personal or financial information.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Rogue traders. Unqualified individuals may impersonate heating technicians or other tradespeople and their work can lead to unsafe heating systems and expensive repair costs.

Malcolm Farrow from OFTEC said: “It’s an incredibly difficult time for everyone, with vulnerable individuals spending more time at home on their own and many households struggling financially. Whilst communities across the region have come together to support each other, unfortunately scammers and rogue traders have been taking advantage of the situation. It’s incredibly disheartening to see the number of victims of fraud increase.

“We should all be wary of ‘out of the blue’ phone calls, emails and text messages as well as strangers at the door. Fraudsters often try to pressure you into making a quick decision, so don’t hesitate to take a step back and consider whether an offer is genuine. If you do need a tradesperson to undertake work in your home, make sure they are appropriately qualified and check their ID badge upon arrival.

“For oil households, if you have any concerns about a heating technician, contact OFTEC directly for advice and support.”

For more information, visit www.oftec.org.

Related topics:NottinghamshireHMRC