Category: Community

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has received intelligence regarding two new Lottery Fraud letters/email attachments (Scam 1 & Scam 2) using the 2016 Rio Olympics as a theme.

The scams try to trick people into believing they have won the following:

Scam 1: An online lottery prize of £650,000 and a trip to Brazil to watch the Olympics as the recipient’s email address was chosen out of a possible ten million at random.

Scam 2: An online lottery prize of £820,000 and a trip to Brazil to watch the Rio Carnival and the Olympics as the recipient’s winning numbers 8 17 34 38 42 and 51 were selected.

In order to collect the winnings the recipient is requested to contact:

Scam 1:
Mr Dima Robert
MillMan Street, WC1N 3JB. London A5200.
Tel: +447035973561
Email: RioOlympics2016@represnetative.com

Scam 2:
‘UK Pay out Officer’
Email:paymaster-office@bol.co.br
+44 7937428753

Protect yourself from lottery fraud

• Never respond to any such communication. If you have not entered a lottery then you cannot have won it.
• Official lotteries in other countries operate in much the same way as the UK’s National Lotto.
• No official lotteries that we know of contact people to tell them of their win.
• We do not know of any official lottery operators who ask for fees to collect winnings.  Any request for a fee payment is a good indication that someone is trying to defraud you.
• Never disclose your bank details or pay fees in advance.
• If they have provided an email address to respond to, be very suspicious of addresses such as @hotmail.com or @yahoo.com or numbers beginning with 07 because these are free to get hold of.
• Genuine lotteries thrive on publicity. If they ask you to keep your win a secret, it is likely to be a fraud.
• Many fraudulent lotteries have bad spelling and grammar – see this as a warning that fraudsters are at work.

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.

North Dorset officers are investigating a break in at a petrol filling station in the Stalbridge area  at approximately 03.30hrs this morning.

Offenders have gained access and stolen a large amount of cigarettes and then left towards the town area.
If you have any information that may relate to this or you are aware of persons selling cigarettes in suspicious circumstances, please let our officers know by calling on 101 quoting incident 14:023.

Thank you.

People looking for a cheap designer bargain online are being targeted by fraudsters advertising fake designer goods. The items received are usually cheap and inferior counterfeits of handbags, clothes and sunglasses amongst other things.

The general rule is ‘if it looks too good to be true then it probably is.’ Designer products sold at heavily discounted prices are an immediate sign that something isn’t quite right.

What can you do to protect yourself?

• Where possible, buy from well-known, High Street retailers. If you’ve never heard of a firm, or it is based overseas, be sceptical.
• Avoid paying by cheque or bank transfer.  Use PayPal or a credit card as they will give you additional protection.
• Search the internet. Type the website you are buying from and look for reviews of what others customers are saying about the company. Bad customer service feedback usually finds their way online quite quickly.
• Check for spelling mistakes or poor grammar on websites as this may suggest the website has been put together by a fraudster.
• Sign up to Action Fraud Alert at https://www.actionfraudalert.co.uk/ to keep you updated with what’s going on.

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.

Good Morning

A suspicious red Ford Transit van was seen at Stileham Bank, Milborne St Andrew on Saturday 11th July at 1:30pm. One male who was with the vehicle was going door to door offering to re-surface driveways. He was described as a white male in his late 20’s with an Irish accent. When challenged, the driver returned to the vehicle and left the area at speed. The van was an 05 plate ending MVY.

If you see this vehicle, or any other vehicles acting suspiciously in your area, please contact Dorset Police on 101 or 999 if appropriate.

Thank You

‘The Dyre Wolf’ is a sophisticated fraud scheme that has netted more than $1 million from U.S companies. It is anticipated that British companies could subsequently be targeted by this fraud type.

Spam emails with attachments are sent to as many computers as possible within a targeted company. If installed, the malware – a variant of the malware known as Dyre – spreads itself into the company network where it waits until it recognises that a user is navigating to a bank website. A fake screen is then created telling the user that there are problems with the bank’s site and to call a number.

At the end of the phone line is an English speaking operator, aware of the bank that the user is attempting to contact. After obtaining the user’s bank details the operator commences a large wire transfer of money out of the business account.

So far those targeted work in large and medium sized companies, and at present the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau have yet to notice any reports of this type of fraud being reported through Action Fraud.

Prevention

• Ensuring employees are well trained in spotting phishing attacks where unsolicited emails and attachment could contain malware.
• Ensuring all company employees are aware of the scam.
• Do not give banking details to anyone.
• Only use confirmed banking phone numbers or those that have been previously used.
• Do not follow links from an unknown source.
• Do not open attachments on suspicious emails.
• Run regular virus scans on devices.

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.

A scam email is currently being sent to victims fraudulently claiming to be from British Gas or The Ministry of Justice. The attached document or link leads to the TorrentLocker ransomware.

This malware encrypts files on the victim’s system and requests a ransom be paid in order for the files to be decrypted; one reported amount has been £330 worth of Bitcoins.

It has been reported that some anti-virus vendors are detecting this and stopping the pages and or documents from being opened.

Protect yourself

• If you receive an email that you are suspicious of do not follow any links or open attachments until you can verify that the email is genuine. To do this contact the organisation that the email has come from by sourcing the number independently from the email received.
• If you believe the email to be fake, report it to your email provider as spam.
• Ensure your anti-virus software is up to date this will help to mitigate the potential for virus to be downloaded. It should be noted that anti-virus software is constantly being updated and may not stop all viruses especially if they are new or been adapted.  It has been reported that some anti-virus vendors are detecting this and stopping the pages and or documents from being opened.
• If you have opened an attachment or followed a link which you believe to be suspicious it is recommended that you run your anti-virus and/or take your machine to a reputable company to have it cleaned.
• In cases where files have been encrypted it can be very difficult to retrieve them, and in most cases they will be lost. It is recommended that you always back up all files on a separate device or cloud storage to ensure they are not lost. Please remember that if a device is attached to the infected machine the files on this could also be encrypted with the virus so ensure they are kept separate.

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.

Police are appealing for the tractor driver involved in an accident on May 27th in an area west of East Stour on the A30  to come forward.  The collision was with a motorcycle who has admitted being at fault and we purely need to establish details for reporting purposes only.  This person should contact Police on 101 and ask for the information to be passed to PC 2342 Henstridge.

Courier fraudsters have been identifying themselves to victims on the telephone as “Detective Constable Martin Benton of New Scotland Yard Fraud Department”. The fraudsters will invent a story regarding fraudulent activity on your card and request your bank/card details.

No such person exists at the Metropolitan Police. If you receive a call from someone purporting to be this individual, terminate the call immediately.

Protect yourself against courier fraud:

• Your bank will never send a courier to your home
• Your bank and the police will never collect your bank card
• Your bank and the police will never ask for your PIN
• If you receive one of these calls end it immediately

Victim Advice:

• If you have handed over any details to the fraudster, call your bank and cancel your cards immediately.
• ​If you want to call your bank, then do it from another telephone.

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.

Fraudsters are targeting individuals who have recently expressed an interest in an online loan. Unsolicited calls are made by fraudsters who appear to be calling from a genuine company. They state that the recently applied for loan has been agreed, but an “advance fee” is required before the money can be transferred.

Once these “fees” have been paid, either directly to the fraudsters’ bank accounts or through a money service bureau, they are unrecoverable.

In many cases, fraudsters have asked for multiple upfront “fees” to address issues arising with the loan.

Protect yourself:

• Authentic credit companies do not charge fees in advance.
• Be wary of anyone calling who says they represent a credit company.
• Report any instances of a credit company attempting to request fees in advance of a loan to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

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.