Vapes seized: Suffolk Trading Standards has seized more than 2,000 illegal vapes from a shop in Ipswich. Approximately 2,500 vapes were found in a storeroom when officers visited the premises following a successful test purchase of illegal tobacco. Used properly, vapes and e-cigarettes can be a successful way of helping people to stop smoking. But criminals are capitalising on this, leading to a rise in illegal vapes. In addition, some retailers are increasingly selling vapes to underage children, who are often enticed by the colourful packaging and sweet flavours. The seized vapes are illegal because they supply over the number of puffs allowed under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. The regulations state that vapes should provide a maximum of 600 puffs, but these devices indicate between 3,500 puffs to up to more than 10,000. Investigations into the retailer continue. Graham Crisp, Head of Suffolk Trading Standards, said: “Illegal vapes such as these breach the safety legislation and indicate that they could be unsafe to use. That legislation is in place to help protect the public, and businesses who break those regulations can expect tough penalties. We will continue to carry out checks on retailers across Suffolk, taking legal action where necessary.” Councillor Andrew Reid, Suffolk County Council Cabinet Member for Public Health and Public Protection, said: "Vaping has an important role to play in helping smokers to quit, especially when used in conjunction with specialist support from a stop smoking service. However illegal devices such as these are nothing to do with helping people quit smoking, instead they exacerbate the problem of inappropriate vaping. This seizure is another example of the on-going excellent work being carried out by Suffolk Trading Standards in tackling this problem.”
Consumers can ensure the vape that they are purchasing is legal by checking the following:
- That the tank of a vape is a maximum size of 2ml, and the largest refill bottle is 10ml in size or less
- That all liquids come in childproof bottles displaying nicotine warnings and have an accompanying safety leaflet
- That vapes have a nicotine strength of no more than 20mg/ml, or 2%
- That a maximum number of around 600 puffs is offered
Anyone who suspects that a business is inappropriately selling vaping materials can report this in confidence to Suffolk Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice Consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133.
Beware of scams related to the Cost of Living payments: Millions of households across the UK will receive £300 directly from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between 31 October and 19 November. However, criminals are known to be targeting those who might be about to receive the money, trying to get cash out of them and personal details.
If you are eligible:
- You do not need to apply for the payment
- You do not need to call
- Payment to you is automatic
- DWP will never ask for personal details by text or email
The second payment of £300 will automatically be paid into eligible customers bank accounts between 31 October and 19 November. The payment reference for bank accounts will be the recipient’s National Insurance Number followed by DWP COL or HMRC COLS.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) sets out a number of different ways to report scams depending on the type:
Email scams. If you get a dodgy looking email, you can report it to the NCSC by forwarding it to report@phishing.gov.uk. Remember not to click on any links within these emails.
Text scams. If you get a suspicious text message, you can forward it to the number 7726 – this will allow your provider to track the origin of the text and arrange to block or ban the sender if it's a scam. You can also report scam text messages to report@phishing.gov.uk by providing a screenshot of the text message.
Website scams. If you notice a website that doesn't look quite right, you can easily report the URL to the NCSC directly via its online form www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/about-this-website/report-scam-website
Watch out for fake emails promising free Oral-B electric toothbrushes: Action Fraud has now received over 10,000 reports relating to fake emails purporting to giveaway a free Oral-B iO Series 9 Electric Toothbrush. The emails usually impersonate well know retailers such as Boots, and claim that the recipient will receive their free toothbrush if they simply follow the links in the email and complete a feedback form. The links in the email lead to malicious websites designed to steal personal and financial information. Spotted a suspicious email? Report it by forwarding to: report@phishing.gov.uk
Join us in our pledge to "Take A Stand Against Scams": Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative, which aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering people to take a stand against scams. Each person that has taken the free awareness session has become more Scam Aware, to help protect themselves and those close to them. Learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones from scams by completing the Friends Against Scams awareness session and help to raise awareness throughout your community www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/training/friends-elearning
Online safety: These days, most of us take the internet for granted for many of the things we do every day. Things we do from choice like social media, reading the news or streaming entertainment, and things we have to do like accessing official services. The internet’s unequalled choice, 24/7 convenience and flexibility are benefits that suit people of all ages, wherever they live or work. Others, however, prefer to do things the traditional, offline way for many reasons, a major one being including trust. We’ve all either experienced at first hand or heard about negative experiences including online fraud or abuse which are, unfortunately, all too commonplace. In order to go online with safety and confidence, it’s important to get to know who and what you can trust … and who and what you can’t.
Your top trust tips
Safeguard your children
It’s good to trust your child to behave safely and responsibly online but remember, they learn from being curious and develop by pushing boundaries. Consider parental and ISP filters too. Chat regularly with your child about what they do online and get them to show you. Cover the potential negatives, like oversharing, exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying and stranger danger, whether on social media, while messaging or on gaming and other platforms which feature chat. Talk about who they should and shouldn’t trust. Steer your child towards safe searching and trustworthy websites and apps. Check what they’re watching and/or sharing on streaming sites like YouTube and TikTok. Encourage them to use child-friendly platforms like YouTube Kids.
Think inclusive
It’s important that everybody feels they can trust in using the internet with safety and confidence, regardless of gender, ability, appearance, background or beliefs by trusting their own and others’ behaviour. Always act with respect, put yourself in the position of others and treat people as you’d like to be treated yourself, earning their trust at the same time. If you fall victim to abuse or discrimination yourself, have strategies in place to mitigate the issues.
Buy online safely
From trainers to trucks, tickets to tech, handbags to holidays, you can buy anything online. But fraudsters use auction sites, social media networks and other online marketplaces to lure in their victims with advertisements for products that simply don’t exist. Learn how to spot the signs of an untrustworthy advertisement, post or email. And to find out whether a website is likely to be legitimate or fraudulent, visit https://www.getsafeonline.org/checkawebsite
Misinformation and fake news: spot the difference
There is a substantial volume of both fake news and misinformation on the internet, some of it intended to be malicious, some quite innocent. Unfortunately, many people trust in everything they read and not only act on it, but pass it on too. It’s very important that you can tell the difference between real and fake information by asking yourself if it really seems authentic and checking it against other, respected sources.
Be social but be careful
With a community of billions of people on social media, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you need to take care when using it. For example, take time to think about who might see your profile and what you post or comment on. Can you trust everybody with what you’re sharing? Also, think about friend requests: can you trust that somebody is who they claim to be? And remember that posts and messages that catch your eye may also not be as they seem. Charitable appeals could be genuine … or they may be fraudulent. Quizzes and surveys may be designed to capture your confidential data. Advertisements may be fake. Always think twice before you click or respond.
Recall:
Lidl GB recalls Red Hen Battered 25 Chicken Dippers because they may contain pieces of hard blue plastic. The possible presence of plastic makes this product unsafe to eat.
Pack size 450g
Batch code 306931400
Best before End of February 2025
If you have bought the above product do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store from where it was bought or contact customer.care@lidl.co.uk or call 0203 966 5566 for a full refund.