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Stay safe in very hot weather

Very hot weather is expected for the next few days. A red heat-health alert (the highest level) is in place for London on Wednesday and Thursday.  

Hot weather can be dangerous and can cause serious illness. Stay safe and look out for others who may be particularly vulnerable to the heat. Read advice on GOV.UK

Cool spaces

There are local cool spaces that are free and open to everyone. Visit them to rest, drink water and stay cool. Find a cool space near you

Access Islington hubs 

North and South Access Islington hubs are closed due to the hot weather. The Central Hub is open for urgent, in-person support, until 4pm today (Wednesday 24 June) but avoid travelling unless it is essential. 

You can still access our services online and you can call us on 020 7527 2000 if you need to speak to someone. 

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Scams awareness

Scams are ways to trick you out of your money. Every year more than three million people in the UK lose money to scams, losing hundreds and even thousands of pounds.

You can get a scam message by post, phone call, text message or email, or even by a 'scammer' turning up at your home.

If you have been targeted by a scam, or know someone who has, report it through Action Fraud, the national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre.

If debit cards, online banking or cheques are involved in the scam, contact your bank or credit card company. 

Help working out a scam

A scam could be:

  • a call, letter, email or text that you get without any warning or someone you haven't had contact from before
  • a lottery or competition that you have you’ve not heard of or that you didn't enter or buy a ticket for
  • someone asking you to send money to them
  • someone saying you have to reply or do somethig quickly - this is so you don’t have time to think about it or talk to family and friends before you decide
  • someone needing something from you and telling you to keep it a secret.

What a scammer may do

  • Contact you suddenly without any contact from them before.
  • Make promises that sound too good to be true.
  • Ask you to pay for something before you've got what you're paying for - for example, they may ask you to pay a fee before you can claim a prize.
  • Ask you to make a quick decision by saying things like ‘if you don’t act now you’ll miss out’. This doesn’t give you time to think or talk to someone else about it.
  • Be very friendly with you and act as if they know you when they don't.
  • Tell you an offer has to be kept secret.
  • Ask for your bank account details. Never give your bank details to anyone you don't know or can't check who they are, especially people you meet online.
  • Give a mobile number or PO box number as the contact for their company - these are easy to close and difficult for police to track and find. It may be a sign that the company doesn’t exist or isn't real. Check the company's details with Companies House or look on the internet for more details about them.

If you think something might be a scam, don’t reply - then throw it away, delete it or hang up and get further advice.

Tips on avoiding scams

  • Register with the Mailing Preference Service to cut down on unwanted direct mail that is addressed to you: phone 020 7291 3310.
  • Royal Mail also has an opt out scheme through which you can choose not to have materials put through the door.
  • Register with the Telephone Preference Service to cut down on unwanted phone calls, texts and SMS messages.
  • Forward spam texts to your mobile provider – 7726 for Everything Everywhere (O2 & Orange), 37726 for 3, 87726 for Vodafone.
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