Havering residents beware telephone scammers
Havering residents have been urged to be vigilant in the face of telephoning scammers offering to protect them - from unwanted cold callers.
The con artists have been masquerading as workers from the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), a company which offers to block businesses cold calling your home.
While the TPS is a free and legitimate service, the scammers have been asking residents for a �39.99 registration fee.
The scam follows a recent Residents’ Association newsletter article espousing the benefits of TPS.
Leader of the Residents’ Association, Cllr Clarence Barrett, has now reported the bogus operators to TPS. He said: “TPS is a free service for consumers wanting to register and they would never contact people in order to obtain payment. Please be aware of companies claiming to be TPS or BT asking for a fee to register or renew registration.
“The golden rule is not to make any payments or pass on bank details to organisations or individuals unless you know it is a trusted source.”
A TPS spokesman said: “We are concerned about some outfits misrepresenting our organisation and will collate and report misrepresentation to the appropriate regulatory bodies. We will cooperate with Trading Standards and other agencies to investigate cases where such calls are fraudulent.”
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“There are commercial companies offering call suppression services and we would advise residents not to provide bank or credit card details to anyone who calls them.”
The official TPS website is at: www.tpsonline.org.uk
