Council warns of Christmas scams
The Vale of Glamorgan Council is urging residents to be extra vigilant for scams in the lead up to Christmas.
Shared Regulatory Services (SRS) carries out Trading Standards work and a range of other functions in the Vale, Cardiff and Bridgend Local Authority areas.
It is actively involved in identifying and prosecuting rogue traders in an effort to keep consumers safe.
With the festive season approaching, it is important to be more cautious in general when buying items, while there are some specific examples of fraud to watch out for.
Research from NatWest shows that 41 per cent of British adults receive more scam approaches during November and December, while purchase scam losses are now at their highest level since data collection began in 2020.
The bank has produced a special ‘scamvent calendar’, which features doors representing the most common purchase scams the public are likely to encounter at this time of year.
They include deceptions relating to phones, tickets; online vouchers and gift cards; laptops and tablets; clothing, jewellery, video games, cars, watches, luxury handbags; and shoes.
Cllr Ruba Sivagnanam, Vale of Glamorgan Council Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, Equalities and Regulatory Services, said: “Unfortunately, scams targeting the public are common and have become more sophisticated in recent years. They often make use of the latest technology and can be very convincing with fraudsters’ methods and techniques developing at pace.
“SRS is actively involved in raising awareness of fraud to prevent harm to consumers, with the number of scams particularly high at Christmas as shopping levels increase.
“It is important for residents to be more vigilant and questioning than ever before given the type of complex deceptions we are now seeing.
“Always ask yourself whether a communication is genuine and if you have any doubt, contact the organisation or person yourself to check.
"It is useful to Stop, Think and Check, before you respond or provide any personal or sensitive details.”