Trading Standards, part of the Kingston and Sutton Shared Environment Service, works with the police to prevent rogue traders from operating, and provides advice and guidance to Sutton residents who might be affected by these sorts of crimes

Covid 19 has been accompanied by a surge in scams, with new attempts to dupe the public every day. Everyone is potentially vulnerable to these scams -

36M UK adults have been targeted by a scammer since January 2021

33% surge in scams between April 2020 and April 2021

60% increase in scams via telephone calls

54% of scams related to bogus delivery notifications

41% of scams involved fake government communications

667% rise in scams via unsolicited emails

To learn more about different types of scams and how to protect yourself and others, visit www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk and complete the free online training

Get advice and report it to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or online advice at www.adviceguide.org.uk

Report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or www.actionfraud.police.uk

World Suicide Prevention Day promotes the worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides. This year's theme is Creating Hope Through Action with the aim to create a
movement of preventative action. Preventing suicide is often possible, and we can all make a difference.

The Sutton Safeguarding Adults Board, Sutton Council and Public Health have arranged a series of presentions. Please join us via Zoom, connection details are available on the attached poster.

This year, we are promoting the Light a Candle Campaign. Lighting a candle is an act of remembrance demonstrating support for suicide prevention, to remember a lost loved one, and for the survivors of suicide.

Data from Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime, reveals that £2,638,323 was lost by prospective pet owners in the 2020/21 financial year, after they put down deposits for pets they saw advertised online.

Capitalising on the rise in people getting pets due to the national lockdowns caused by coronavirus, criminals have been posting fake adverts on social media, online marketplaces and specific pet-selling platforms.

Unsuspecting victims will be asked to pay a deposit for the pet without seeing it in person first, with many criminals using the restrictions caused by the pandemic as a reason why they cannot see the animal. After the initial payment is made, more and more funds will be requested to cover additional costs such as insurance, vaccinations and even delivery of the pet.

Please look at this to see how to protect yourself from pet fraud 

The Safeguarding Voices Group - request for participants

The Sutton Safeguarding Adults Board is looking for individuals with lived safeguarding experience. If you have had the experience of going through the safeguarding process, either as a service user or carer, or know someone who has and would be interested in participating, please share this video link with them. Please contact Anita Batish at anita.batish@sutton.gov.uk for further information.

Action Fraud recently received 537 reports in 48 hours relating to fake emails purporting to be from British Gas. The emails state that the recipient is due a refund because of overpayment, and there is a link to a phishing website requesting personal and financial information. Do not be taken in by this – forward all scam emails to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) report@phishing.gov.uk.