News Room

Codes scheme now protects almost £135bn of consumer transactions

Posted: 28/04/2020

In what was an excellent year for the scheme, business members increased to 68,809 from 52,003 in 2018, representing a 32% year-on-year membership growth.  

Coronavirus rogues darken doorsteps nationwide

Posted: 27/04/2020

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has led to an explosion of scams online, on the phone and the doorstep.

Over the past six weeks, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has received numerous reports of opportunists darkening the doorsteps of vulnerable people throughout the country.

UK ECC reports a surge in airline flight cancellation advice

Posted: 24/04/2020

The UK European Consumer Centre (UK ECC) has received a record number of enquiries in the last 48 hours with over 1000 consumers seeking its expertise and advice in relation to airline flight cancellations. This the biggest influx of consumer enquiries since the 2010 Icelandic volcanic ash cloud chaos.   

Outbreak of scams during coronavirus pandemic

Posted: 20/04/2020

Since early March, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has witnessed an avalanche of scams drop on UK consumers. These scams cover the full gamut of delivery methods, from doorstep to the telephone, to social media, text and email, and all themed around the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

HMRC COVID-19 scam expands to all types of communication

Posted: 17/04/2020

In March, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) warned about a new HMRC-branded scam text claiming that the government are offering lump-sum payments "as part of its promise to battle COVID-19.

Recently, this scam theme has expanded from text and emails to telephone calls from bogus civil servants.

Netflix scam takes advantage of COVID-19 lockdown

Posted: 17/04/2020

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic lockdown has led to a surge in viewership of online video streaming services.

New advice launched to combat COVID-19-related food waste

Posted: 16/04/2020

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is assisting with the release of advice created jointly by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to consumers and businesses on how to reduce it.

Holidaymakers affected by COVID-19 cancellations may get redress

Posted: 09/04/2020

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, many hotel and travel businesses have refused to refund holidaymakers, with some left out of pocket for large sums. 

Coronavirus quiz data harvesting spreads through social media

Posted: 09/04/2020

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has received intelligence about a series of 'COVID-19 Quizzes' spreading on social media. The quizzes claim to test public knowledge about the coronavirus pandemic; however, most of the questions are unrelated to it.

Public warned about new coronavirus charity cons

Posted: 08/04/2020

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has received intelligence on a series of new doorstep scams themed around the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

New COVID-19 coronavirus scam voucher doing the rounds

Posted: 03/04/2020

The past three weeks have seen umpteen scams themed around the COVID-19 pandemic hit the UK. 

UK most targeted nation for COVID-19 spam email

Posted: 02/04/2020

According to research by Trend Micro, a multinational cybersecurity and defence company, the UK is the most heavily targeted nation for COVID-19 Coronavirus-related email spam.