Category: Community

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) and Action Fraud have noticed a rise in the reporting of victims being recruited via Facebook to sell items for suspects on eBay – often stating that it is a quick way of making money.

The items are said to be bankrupt stock, purchased via auctions, and need to be sold on quickly. The majority of the items reported have been Apple Mac Book Pro/Electrical Items.

The victim places the items on eBay and once the items are sold, the victim will get paid and transfer the funds to the suspect/recruiter.

Once the suspect/recruiter gets the funds, the purchasers are claiming that they have received empty cereal boxes or often no goods at all, leaving the victim being reported as the actual suspect, and leaving them out of pocket as their account will be debited.

Protect yourself:

• Consider conducting research on other information provided by the seller, for example: a mobile phone number or email address could alert you to negative information associated with the number/email address online.
• Be very cautious of unsolicited emails or approaches over social media promising opportunities to make easy money.
• When accepting offers, verify the company/entity details provided to you and check whether they have been registered in the UK.
• If you think the deal or offer is too good to be true then it probably is!

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

Fraudsters are still conning elderly and vulnerable people over the phone in Dorset, which has cost local people nearly £1,100,000 since it started in 2014.

Dorset Police launched the awareness campaign Hang Up On Fraudsters in 2015 to make residents aware that criminals were claiming to be police officers or bank workers and telling people their account had been defrauded. They told victims they should call them back to clarify their identity – but in reality they kept the lines open and conned unsuspecting locals out of over a million pounds.

A similar warning about phone scams is now being issued by police. Fraudsters are currently pretending to be from a bank, stating that the account holder is due new credit or debit cards but they need the PIN for the current cards so that they can be cancelled.

The caller states the new cards will be with the customer the following day. If a victim queries the caller, the victim is told that the local branch manager will ring to confirm the authenticity. A subsequent call is made to the account holder and they confirm the previous caller’s details.

The victim then receives a further call from the offenders, asking if they have received their new cards. They obviously haven’t, so the offender states that they will send a courier to deliver the new cards and collect the old ones.

Later that day, a person will turn up at the address, stating they are a courier. They give the victim the ‘new’ cards and collect the old ones. Shortly after this transaction, fraudulent activity is recorded on the account both on-line and at local ATMs.

This year, Dorset Police has received 27 reports of phone fraud between 01 January to 25 April 2016, compared to 407 reports for the same period last year.

The victims, who are on average 79-years-old, have lost a combined total of £43,812 this year, compared to £420,500 for the same period last year: a reduction of over 90 per cent. Nine phone fraud victims have lost money to criminals, compared to 35 in 2015.

Police have received reports of this type of phone fraud from residents living in the following areas of Dorset during 2016: Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Ferndown, Portland and Bridport.

Detective Sergeant Garry Knight, of Bournemouth Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said: “We are pleased that there are considerably fewer victims than last year, however; we want this crime to stop completely, so that unscrupulous fraudsters don’t get away with stealing money from elderly and vulnerable people.

“Telephone fraud has traditionally been a faceless crime, but criminals are now defrauding victims over the phone before collecting their cash cards in person. This poses all kinds of risks to the individual concerned, let alone the financial losses they will incur if they are conned.

“We want people to tell their friends, family members and neighbours that they should NEVER give out bank account details, including their Personal Identification Number (PIN), over the phone.

“Nobody, no matter which organisation they claim to be from, will ask you for bank details over the phone or on your doorstep. This includes the police, banks and retailers.

“If people start asking for personal details – make you hang up, dial 1471 and note the number, then call the police immediately on 101 to report it.”

More information about telephone fraud is available at http://www.dorset.police.uk/Default.aspx?page=8318. A recording of a real telephone fraud call is available on Dorset Police’s YouTube account: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lDvlZvwZj8

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has recently received an influx of reports that fraudsters are targeting the public, via social media, in relation to football tickets.

Fraudsters are posting pictures or statuses online telling members of the public to contact them via Direct Message for football tickets. This then leads to a mobile messaging conversation. During the conversation, bank details are provided by the suspect so that the tickets can be purchased.

After the victim has paid for the ticket the fraudster blocks them to stop further conversation, leaving victims without the tickets and out of pocket.

Protect yourself:

• Check the security of the website and validity of the post
• Avoid taking the conversation offline to private messages
• When purchasing any products over the internet always try to make the payment via PayPal or a credit card where you have some sort of payment cover

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.

Fraudsters are targeting members of the public who are expecting to make a payment for property repairs. The fraudsters, via email, will purport to be a tradesman who has recently completed work at the property and use a similar email address to that of the genuine tradesman. They will ask for funds to be transferred via bank transfer and once payment is made the victims of the fraud soon realise they have been deceived when the genuine tradesman requests payment for their services.

Protect Yourself:

• Always check the email address is exactly the same as previous correspondence with the genuine contact.
• For any request of payment via email verify the validity of the request with a phone call to the person who carried out the work.
• Check the email for spelling and grammar as these signs can indicate that the email is not genuine.
• Payments via bank transfer offer no financial protection; consider using alternative methods such as a credit card or PayPal which offer some protection and avenue for recompense.

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

Keep your vehicle safe.

In recent weeks the Blandford area has suffered several breaks to motor vehicle whilst parked unattended. Please make sure you do not leave any valuable in your vehicle or leave any items visible through the windows. Vehicle should be left secure and windows fully closed.

Further crime prevention advice can be found at  http://www.dorset.police.uk/default.aspx?page=6272

Blandford NPT

Please follow the link below to see the April 2016 edition of the Dorset Police Neighbourhood Policing Team Newsletter –

Neighbourhood Policing Team Newsletter April 2016

Burglaries in the Shroton area.

Between the evening of the 2nd April and the morning of the 3rd April, two Burglaries and an attempt break have occurred in the area of Shroton. A trailer, Quad Bike, power tools and jewellery were stolen. If you saw or heard anything suspicious, please contact Dorset Police. We are looking to trace the owner of a dark coloured 4×4 with a silver front and/or bull bars seen in the area at the time of the offences. Please contact Dorset Police on 101 or Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111 quoting Occurrence number 55160052882.

Thank You

Blandford Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT)

Officers from Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire Special Constabularies have joined forces to tackle crime in our rural communities.

Operation Seashell involved 20 Special officers who worked with Dorset Police colleagues to patrol parts of the Dorset countryside between 7pm on Saturday 02 April and 3am on Sunday 03 April 2016.

Over 50 vehicles were checked on the outskirts of Shaftesbury, Warminster, Salisbury, Blandford, Wimborne, Verwood, Ferndown, Fordingbridge and Ringwood.

Four Fixed Penalty Notices were issued for speeding and having no MOT.

Specials in Ferndown stopped a vehicle and located cannabis paraphernalia which was seized from the occupants.

Specials in the Sixpenny Handley area spotted a vehicle driving on private farm land acting suspiciously. Officers worked with other police units to gain access to the land and locate the vehicle.

Police checks confirmed the driver was a local gamekeeper and had the landowner’s permission to be there.

The most common rural crime offences reported to the police are poaching, theft from outbuildings and theft of agricultural machinery and tools.

North Dorset Special Inspector, Ben Muspratt, who led the operation said: “Operation Seashell is one of several operations Specials are involved with to tackle a wide range of issues affecting local people and businesses.

“We work 24/7 to support operations which run throughout the year at various times of the day or night.

“We hope we make a difference in deterring crimes from happening which often affect people’s livelihoods and have a big impact on close-knit communities.

“Being a Special Constable is a fantastic opportunity for members of the public to be ‘part of something more’ and give something back to their community, whether they’re in rural areas or in town centres.”

Inspector Mike Darby, Dorset’s Wildlife Crime lead, added: “We would like people to contact us if they see anything suspicious in the countryside or they are aware of stolen goods being handled or sold, so that we can identify and prosecute offenders whenever possible.

“Please call us on 101, speak to your local Neighbourhood Policing Team or call Crimestoppers for free and anonymously on 0800 555 111. Dial 999 if a crime is in progress.”

Your Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) can provide free crime prevention advice, demonstrate wildlife alarms and carry out surveys at your property.

To find out more information, please visit the www.dorset.police.uk website.

For more information about the Special Constabulary, please visit http://www.dorset.police.uk/Default.aspx?page=303.

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This alert is a reminder to be aware of emails that appear to have been sent from a legitimate organisation. Fraudsters often use fake email addresses designed to encourage recipients to open attachments or links. You are advised that if you are in any doubt as to the origin of an email, do not open it. Consider that emails can be spoofed and used to generate spam to recipients far and wide. If you receive a spam email, you MUST NOT open it. Instead, delete it from your email system to avoid infecting your device. If you have opened an attachment from a spam email, you should get your device checked over by a professional and change the passwords for all your bank, email and online shopping accounts.

Protect yourself:

• Do not click or open unfamiliar links in emails or on websites.
• Make sure you install and use up-to-date anti-virus software.
• Have a pop-up blocker running in the background of your web browser.
• If you have opened an attachment and ‘enabled macros’ it is very likely that all your personal data will have been breached. You MUST change all your passwords for personal accounts, including your bank accounts.
• Ensure Adobe, Flash and any similar software is up to date on your computer.

If you think you have been a victim of this type of email you should report the email to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre: www.actionfraud.police.uk If you do make a report please provide as much detail as you can about the email and any effects it has had on your computer. Additionally if your Anti-Virus software detects any issues in relation to this email please provide us with the details.

The Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner’s latest newsletter is now available.  Find out more about Restorative Justice, the recent volunteer awards, how drones will be used by the police in future and how £2m worth of local community safety money was distributed over the last year.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEWSLETTER
If you’re a twitter user, do follow the Commissioner on @PCCDorset or if you use Facebook, you can like Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner.