Category: Crimewatch

MEET AND GREET’ YOUR LOCAL NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING TEAM

It’s that time of year again; The Great Dorset Steam Fair is on it’s way to the Tarrant Valley.  As always, Blandford NPT will be running our community engagement and reassurance operation during the Steam Fair period.  We will have our dedicated team deployed to the Tarrant Valley between:
16^th August – 30^th August 2016
In order for members of the local community to meet the team, discuss any concerns or ask any crime prevention advice, we have organised two dedicated time slots where the team will be available at Tarrant Hinton Village Hall to meet with you:
Friday 29^th July – 10:00-11:00 – Drop-in Surgery*
Thursday 4^th August – 19:00-20:00 – Drop-in surgery*
*Subject to operational commitments at the time

Many thanks,

Blandford NPT

Do It Online is a contact portal that can be found on the front page of our website www.dorset.police.uk. Here you can select the service most appropriate to your enquiry and complete the form as directed. The Do It Online function enables you to make enquiries without the need of calling 101, therefore saving your time and any unnecessary expense.

• Report a crime or Incident – If you have something to report, which isn’t happening now, please use this form under the Do it Online tab
• Request a call back – You can ask us to give you a call back at a time that suits you by going to this section of the website
• Message for an Officer – If you would like to leave a message for a specific employee you can do so online using this tab under the Do it Online tab
• Make a complaint – If you wish to make a complaint or leave feedback for us you can do so using the new Complaints or other Feedback form found under the Do it Online section
• Freedom of information – Would you like to obtain some information under the Freedom of Information Act? Please visit this section of the website
• Compliments & feedback – You can use this section, found under the Do it Online section of the website, to provide us with comments, compliments and suggestions about the service we provide
• General enquiry – You can make a general enquiry quickly and easily without the need to call 101 and wait in a queue.
• Email us – You can send an email to 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk
• Call us – If you cannot use our online services, call 101 for non-emergency issues
• Finally, remember: in an emergency, dial 999

Dorset Police is thanking the public for their help in driving down burglary in the county, but are reminding residents to stay vigilant in the busy summer months.

The Force typically experiences a peak in the level of dwelling burglaries during the summer months, but figures from June this year are already showing improvement, thanks to the combined effort of the police, partners and the public.

In the period from 2012 to 2015, the average number of dwelling burglaries in June was 148. Last month, June 2016, the Force experienced 93.

The warmer months have previously shown a higher number of dwelling burglaries than other points in the year, but the statistics show that there has been a consistent improvement in this area. From April to June 2012, there were 496 incidents. In the same period in 2014 this had decreased to 398 and the figures for 2016 show 309.

Though recognising and valuing this success, officers are still encouraging members of the public to familiarise themselves with crime prevention advice and to continue following simple steps to keep their homes safe.

Detective Inspector (DI) Andy Dilworth, of the Dorset Police priority crime team, said: “It is fantastic to see the number of dwelling burglaries in Dorset steadily decreasing, but there is still plenty of work to be done.

“You can stop your home from becoming a target for criminals by following our crime prevention advice this summer, whether you are spending it at home or away.

DI Dilworth continued: “Warmer days and evenings mean people are more inclined to leave windows and doors open, or to enjoy their back gardens out of sight of the front of their properties.

“Remember to always lock your doors and windows wherever possible and to keep the front of your house secure if you are around the back.

“Burglars may use any opportunity to gain access to your property, so don’t give them the chance.”

POLICE GUIDANCE

• Always keep your windows and doors closed and locked where possible, even if you are inside or near your property.
• Use a light timer switch when you know you will be away from your home when it is dark.
• If you are going on holiday, ask a friend or neighbour to park on your driveway, make sure any post is put through your letter box properly and put in and take out your bins. If all other bins in your street are out, it is easy to spot which properties are unoccupied.
• Cancel regular deliveries, such as milk or newspapers, if you are going away.
• Fit a burglar alarm and make sure it’s set when your property is unoccupied.
• Register valuable property online at http://immobilise.com, mark your property with your postcode or keep an inventory including description, serial number and photograph of each item.
• Install tracking apps on your mobile devices such as phones, tablets or laptops. These apps make it easier to locate stolen property.

Sign up to your local Neighbourhood or Home Watch Scheme and ask them to keep an eye on your home while you are away. You can sign up to your local scheme via Dorset Alert (https://www.dorsetalert.co.uk) or find out more information on the Neighbourhood Watch website (http://www.ourwatch.org.uk)

More crime prevention information is available at: https://www.dorset.police.uk/help-advice-crime-prevention/crime-prevention-help-advice/protect-your-home/

With summer holidays fast approaching, individuals are often more exposed to travel booking frauds when looking for last minute package deals / cheap flights. Whether paying upfront for a family holiday or simply booking a flight, payments are transferred only to discover that the holiday / airline ticket does not exist and was sold to you by a bogus travel company. Fraudsters will often lure in potential customers with low prices and ‘one time only’ offers that are simply too good to pass up, requesting payment by the preferred method of direct bank transfer.

Protect Yourself

• Avoid responding to unsolicited calls, texts or emails offering holidays at incredibly low prices.
• Whenever possible, pay for your holiday by credit card as it offers increased protection.
• Always remember to look for the ‘https’ and locked padlock icon in the address bar before entering your payment details.
• Never feel pressured to make a booking for fear that you will miss out on this ‘low price’ opportunity. If you have never used the company before, take your time to do some online research to ensure they are reputable.
• Should you make a flight or hotel booking through a travel company, feel free to separately check with the hotel / airline that your booking does indeed exist.

If you have been affected by this, or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk

Fraudsters are impersonating telephone service providers and contacting their clients offering a phone upgrade on a low monthly payment contract. The fraudsters will glean all your personal and financial details which will then be used to contact the genuine phone provider and order a new mobile phone handset. The fraudsters will either intercept the delivery before it reaches the victim’s address or order the handset to a different address.

Protect yourself

• Never provide your personal information to a third party from an unsolicited communication.
• Obtain the genuine number of the organisation being represented and verify the legitimacy of the communication.
• If the offer is too good to be true it probably is.
• If you have provided personal information and you are concerned that your identity may be compromised consider Cifas Protection Registration.

If you have been a victim of fraud report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

With summer holidays fast approaching, individuals are often more exposed to travel booking frauds when looking for last minute package deals / cheap flights. Whether paying upfront for a family holiday or simply booking a flight, payments are transferred only to discover that the holiday / airline ticket does not exist and was sold to you by a bogus travel company. Fraudsters will often lure in potential customers with low prices and ‘one time only’ offers that are simply too good to pass up, requesting payment by the preferred method of direct bank transfer.

Avoid
Paying for a holiday / airline tickets / accommodation via direct bank transfer. No reputable company will ever request payment via this method.
Responding to unsolicited calls, texts or emails offering holidays at incredibly low prices.

Protect Yourself

• Whenever possible, pay for your holiday by credit card as it offers increased protection.
• Always remember to look for the ‘https’ and locked padlock icon in the address bar before entering your payment details.
• Never feel pressured to make a booking for fear that you will miss out on this ‘low price’ opportunity. If you have never used the company before, take your time to do some online research to ensure they are reputable.
• Should you make a flight or hotel booking through a travel company, feel free to separately check with the hotel / particular airline that your booking does indeed exist.

If you have been affected by this, or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk

FOR ALL RESIDENTS OF NORTH DORSET

THERE ARE REPORTS OF AN ONGOING SCAM WHERE BY RESIDENTS ARE RECEIVING TELEPHONE CALLS WITH A PRE RECORDED MESSAGE STATING THAT THE PERSON ANSWERING OWES THE TAXMAN AND THAT COURT PROCEEDINGS ARE BEING COMMENCED. THEY ARE THEN ENCOURAGED TO PRESS ONE TO SPEAK TO A PERSONAL ADVISOR.

THIS IS A SCAM.

PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT WITH THESE PEOPLE AND TERMINATE THE CALL ASAP

THERE ARE ALSO UNCONFIRMED REPORTS OF A SIMILAR SCAM VIA E MAIL. ONCE AGAIN, PLEASE DO NOT ENGAGE.

The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro begin on 6th August 2016 and as of late June, you will be able to purchase tickets from the Rio 2016 ticket offices.  Purchasing from an unauthorised seller or a ticket tout could leave you out of pocket; not only are the tickets advertised at inflated prices, but there is also a risk that the tickets purchased are counterfeit or do not exist. Any individual with a counterfeit ticket will be refused entry.

To help protect yourself, the list of authorised sellers has been published on the official website and provides a list of trusted resellers; this can be found at www.rio2016.com. Equally, tickets purchased that are no longer needed can be sold through the Rio 2016 website for a 100% reimbursement of the amount paid if the tickets are resold.

Protect yourself

• When purchasing from another company or individual, ask questions; specifically when you will receive the ticket and what type of ticket you are purchasing.
• Pay for tickets by using a credit card or trusted payment service. Payments made by bank transfer may not be recoverable.
• Always check that the payment screen is secure by looking for the padlock symbol or making sure the website/url begins with “https”.
• If you have been affected by this, or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk

Online shopping websites are being utilised by fraudsters to advertise vehicles for sale which do not exist. After agreeing to purchase the vehicle via email with the fraudsters, buyers then receive emails purporting to be from Amazon Payments and/or Amazon Flexible Payment Service stating that their money will be held in an ‘escrow account’ (a bank account held by a third party, used as a temporary holding account during a transaction between two parties- for a 7 day ‘cooling off’ period). Once happy with the purchase the email indicates the money will be released to the seller, therefore offering ‘buyer protection’. In reality these emails are fraudulent and do not come from Amazon. The bank accounts are controlled by fraudsters.

Protect yourself

• Remember that Amazon does not provide an escrow account to purchase items.
• Meet the seller ‘face to face’ and view the vehicle before parting with any money.
• Be vigilant of emails that purport to be from genuine companies and check the ‘domain’ name of the email address for any inconsistencies.
• Check feedback online by searching the associated phone numbers or email addresses of the seller.
• If the vehicle is below market value consider whether this is an opportunity too good to be true!

If you, or anyone you know, have been affected by this fraud or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk