Author: Stourpaine Parish Council

Good Afternoon,

We are sending you this message to invite you to take part in an important new survey. There are no more than eight questions which will ask you to rate your attitude to frauds and scams and how likely you are to protect yourself from them, particularly if you are online.

It’ll be really quick to complete and at the end you’ll get feedback straight away on how well protected you are and more simple steps you can take to help stop you and your family becoming victims.

We’ll also use the results to help us develop our crime prevention campaigns in the future and make sure the information we send you is as useful and relevant as possible.

We hope you’ll be able to spare a couple of minutes to fill this in to help us. If you have the time to do it now just click the button below. This survey will be live until the end of September so if you can’t fill this in now you can come back and complete it at anytime before then.

Thank you.

 

 

Please click here to complete our survey

 

Message sent by

Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

In December 2015 the UK was hit by three severe storms resulting in widespread flooding across the North of England and Scotland.

The NFIB would like to make flood victims aware of the possible threat that Rogue Traders and Bogus Trades People pose to them. Buying on your doorstep can be convenient. However, a salesman who uses clever tactics can pressurise you into buying something you actually don’t want or something that’s poor value for money.

Protect yourself against bogus trades people fraud

• Always ask for identification before letting anyone you don’t know into your house.
• Check credentials, including a permanent business address and landline telephone number. The mobile phone numbers given on business cards are often pay-as-you-go numbers which are virtually impossible to trace.
• Take control by asking the questions. Ask for references from previous customers or to see examples of their work.
• Don’t sign on the spot – shop around. Get at least three written quotes to make sure you’re not being ripped off.
• If in any doubt, ask the person to leave or call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06.

If you do decide to buy:

• Always get any agreement you make in writing.
• Beware when filling in forms or when speaking to the salesperson, and ensure you don’t reveal confidential details that a fraudster could use to assume your identity or take control of your finances. This may allow a fraudster to steal money from your account or order goods and services in your name.
• Usually, you have a seven-day cooling off period. So if you decide to cancel the contract, act fast.
• Think very carefully about having any work done or goods delivered during the cooling off period. You may have to pay, even if you change your mind.
• Never pay for work before it has been completed, and only then if you are happy with it.

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040.

Message sent by

Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

Fraudsters are sending out virus infected emails that claim a package has been seized by HM Revenue & Customs upon arrival into the United Kingdom. The official looking scam emails claiming to be from Royal Mail contain a link to a document which will install malicious software on your computer designed to steal credentials like account names, email addresses and passwords.

An example email reads:

Title: Your parcel has been seized
Royal Mail is sorry to inform you that a package addressed to you was seized by HM Revenue & Customs upon arrival into the United Kingdom.
A close inspection deemed your items as counterfeit and the manufacturers have been notified. If your items are declared genuine then they will be returned back to you with the appropriate custom charges.
You may have been a victim of counterfeit merchandise and the RM Group UK will notify you on how to get your money back. Please review the attached PDF document for more information.
Document (RM7002137GB).Zip
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

To help the spread of the virus, the email also says: “you will need to have access to a computer to download and open the Zip file”. If you receive one of these emails, do not click on any links or download any attachments and report it to Action Fraud.

Protect Yourself

• Royal Mail will never send an email asking for credit card numbers or other personal or confidential information.
• Royal Mail will never ask customers to enter information on a page that isn’t part of the Royal Mail website.
• Royal Mail will never include attachments unless the email was solicited by a customer e.g. customer has contacted Royal Mail with an enquiry or has signed up for updates from Royal Mail.
• Royal Mail have also stressed that they do not receive a person’s email address as part of any home shopping experience.

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone: 0300 123 2040

Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) is warning people of the dangers of Recovery Room fraudsters targeting former victims of Timeshare fraud.
Recovery Room Fraud refers to a scam whereby fraudsters contact the victims of previous frauds, often by way of cold calling them, and claim to be able to recover previously lost funds. In July 2014 the Financial Services Authority (FSA) estimated that 30% of people who had lost money through Investment fraud would also fall victim to a Recovery Room fraud.

When Recovery Room fraudsters target victims of timeshare frauds they usually claim to be a legal professional or a representative of a government agency (normally within the country where the original timeshare property was based) in order to legitimise the scam. The fraudsters know personal details about the victim and their previous investment which gives them credibility. They claim that the advanced fees requested are for ‘local taxes’ or ‘litigation costs’ incurred during the recovery of the funds. It is suspected that the persons behind Recovery Room frauds are often the same people involved in the original scams even though these crimes may have occurred years earlier.

Initially, a small fee, typically in the region of £200-400, is requested by the fraudsters which they often claim is refundable as part of a ‘no-win no-fee’ basis.  The fraudsters rely on the victims seeing this as a nominal fee compared to the amounts lost, which often run into the tens-of-thousands of pounds, and therefore worth paying if it facilitates the return of their money. Once paid, various excuses are made by the fraudsters to explain delays in the recovery of the funds.  Subsequently, further larger amounts are then requested by the fraudsters.  Needless to say, no refunds ever materialise and no money is ever recovered.

 

Protect Yourself

• Never respond to unsolicited phone calls – if in doubt, hang up.
• Always check that the details of the organisation or company contacting you (such as website, address and phone number) are correct – the fraudsters may be masquerading as a legitimate organisation.
• Don’t be fooled by a professional looking website as nowadays the cost of creating a professional website is easily affordable.
• Be wary of any firms or individuals asking for advanced fees.
• Consider seeking independent legal and/or financial advice before making a decision.

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone: 0300 123 2040