Message from Action Fraud – “pop up” scam

Action Fraud has seen an increase in the amount of victims signing up for free trials for unapproved or misleading pharmaceuticals or supplements.

The scam usually involves a ‘pop up’ on your computer or a text message advertising a free 14-day trial. In signing up to this trial you are asked for your credit or debit card details and after the 14 days have elapsed, recurring payments are taken.

Recurring payments or continuous payment authorities are similar to a direct debit, but can be much harder to cancel or identify who is debiting your account. In most cases victims are finding it extremely difficult to cancel the subscription and the products are either not delivered or are inferior.

Common pharmaceuticals or supplements being advertised are teeth whitening products, food supplements and slimming tablets.

Protect Yourself

  • If you desire such products speak to your GP or a local pharmacist.
  • Be vigilant of free trials and always read the Terms and Conditions.
  • Conduct basic online research of the company before registering your details and financial information.

It is important to remember that in most free-trial cases because you have paid for a product and received it, this cannot be recorded as a fraud. If you have already entered your card details on one of these websites, call up you bank immediately to stop these payments and give us a call on 0300 123 2040 for advice.

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Alerts from Dorset Police

Farm Thefts

Overnight Friday 6th February – Saturday 7th February  a farmyard at Hargrove, Shaftesbury has been entered. A wheeled pressure washer has been stolen.

Tarrant Valley – Burglaries

Dorset Police have had 2 daytime burglaries reported in the last 2 days in the Tarrant Valley.

On Thursday 5th February, a property was broken into in Tarrant Hinton. The offender(s) gained entry by smashing a rear window and an untidy search of the property was made and items taken.

On Friday 6th February, in the morning, a property was broken into in Tarrant Gunville. Offender(s) gained entry by forcing open a ground floor window and once inside, an untidy search of the property has been made and items taken.

If anyone saw or heard anyone/thing suspicious in the vacinity of these villages, on these days, please call Dorset Police on 101, quoting crime number 5201 for the Tarrant Hinton burglary and 5323 for the Tarrant Gunville burglary.

Blandford Rural SNT would like to take this opportunity to remind all residents to be vigilant and keep their properties secure.  There is no such thing as ‘I’m only popping out, it will be ok if I leave the back door unlocked’. Keep yourself and your property safe and secure.  If anyone would like to have a free Crime Prevention Survey of their property, completed by their local SNT, please call 101 and ask to speak to a member of the team.

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Messages from Action Fraud

Please see below messages received from Action Fraud –

Pension Changes 2015

HMRC have advised that from April 2015, people over the age of 55 will be given the flexibility of taking a number of smaller lump sum pension pots. 25% of the sum will be tax-free, with the remaining pension fund charged at marginal rate of income tax.

If you take out money from your pension fund before the age of 55, the normal tax rules apply.  We are concerned that fraudsters will take advantage of these rule changes by offering to invest pensions on the victim’s behalf.  Be very wary of such offers.

Avoid losing your hard-earned cash:

  • Do not invest with companies which cold call you, offering extremely high returns. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  • Seek financial advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau, who work alongside the Treasury delivering the ‘Pension Wise’ service.
  • If you wish to invest your savings in a company, please ensure you seek advice from an FCA registered and authorised advisor
  • Be aware of callers offering a free pension review service by phone call, email and text message and do not invest in unregulated markets such as overseas property developments, storage units or forestry

We are holding a parcel in your name” – scam postcards delivered to resident’s homes

Scam postcards are being delivered to UK residents’ homes claiming that a parcel containing “jewellery” is waiting for the homeowner.

Find out how to avoid becoming a victim of this type of fraud by visiting the website below-

http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/news/alert-we-are-holding-a-parcel-in-your-name-scam-postcards-delivered-to-residents-homes-feb15

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Withdrawal of Durweston & Blandford School Bus Service

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS NOW BEEN POSTPONED FOLLOWING THE DECISION BY DORSET COUNTY COUNCIL TO RE-VISIT THE DECISION AND FOR THE APPEALS COMMITTEE TO WALK THE ROUTES PROPOSED

WE WILL LET YOU KNOW THE OUTCOME IN DUE COURSE

                                                                                                                                                                     

WITHDRAWAL OF DURWESTON & BLANDFORD SCHOOL BUS

      UPDATE – FEB 2015

QUOTE FROM ED DENHAM, SCHOOL PLACES SUFFICIENCY MANAGER

“The Children’s and Adult Services Appeal Panel currently view the route as being safe    and thus if there is an issue on a particular day because of flooding or standing water on part of the route, the responsibility remains with the parent to get their child to school through alternative routes or using their own car or vehicle.”

PLEASE JOIN OUR WALK INTO SCHOOL ON SATURDAY 21ST FEBRUARY AND WE WILL WALK OUR “ALTERNATIVE” WALK ALONG THE A350

Download the Poster

 

A message from the Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner

Dear Resident

This Thursday from 10am you can see democracy in action as I present my proposal to freeze the cost of the policing element of the council tax to the Police and Crime Panel.  The meeting will be webcast and I would like to invite you to join us online for the meeting at http://webcasting.dorsetforyou.com/core/portal/home

My decision to freeze the precept has not been taken lightly. I have sought to balance the needs of our police service with the demands on residents across Dorset. The government have offered me £574,000 if I decide to freeze for this financial year. My preference, naturally, is that wherever possible, I would prefer the government to fund local policing rather than the people of Dorset having to bridge the funding gap in these difficult financial times.

A seven week public consultation has been running on the 2015/2016 precept proposals, which closed last week. Of the respondents, 29% have indicated that they support a freeze. 15% would support a 1% increase although this can be achieved by accepting the Freeze Grant at no cost to the council tax payer. The full results, which can be viewed on our website, will be presented to the Police and Crime Panel on Thursday.

I do hope you are able to join us online for this important event. If you’re a twitter user, we will also be posting updates from the Council chamber via our @PCCDorset twitter account and you can join in the conversation via the hashtag #dpcp2015

Kind regards

Martyn Underhill
​Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner

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Congratulations you have won the lottery………or have you? – a message from Dorset Police

Please see below information from Dorset Police –

A lottery scam takes place when criminals pretend that you have won a prize, often a lottery.  The people most likely to fall victim to this tend to be over the age of 60 (although younger people do fall victim too) – but we know that it is often close family members of victims who spot the tell-tale signs of the fraud.

Criminals will normally get in touch by letter or email and will try to engage you into dialogue with them.  Once they have convinced you that they are “genuine”, they will ask for a fee to be paid to release your winnings.  This fee could be to pay taxes or duty, or for a solicitor, banker or judge to authorise the transaction.  NO GENUINE LOTTERY WILL EVER ASK FOR ANY SORT OF FEE TO BE PAID.

Often this first fee will be small, but once they know you are willing to pay it they will ask for more and more money, with ever-changing excuses as to why they need it.  Victims can end up losing tens of thousands of pounds over the course of months or even years.

Many of you reading will be surprised that this type of crime takes place.  After all, why would anyone fall prey to scam like this when they never entered any such lottery in the first place?  Why would they have to pay money when they are supposed to have won millions of pounds?  The sad truth is that these criminals are incredibly persuasive and prey on people who are very trusting.  Therefore, even if you know that you would not get defrauded like this, please spread this message widely to friends, family and to people within your community.

Prevention:

  • If you have not entered a lottery or a prize draw, you have not won it.
  • Delete any emails which detail you winning money or being in a position to make a fortune
  • Spread the message amongst people you come into contact with, especially older people in your family, and look out for any unusual behaviour, for instance someone paying money via money service bureaux, like Western Union or MoneyGram, or buying Ukash vouchers.

If you believe you have become the victim of a fraud or cyber crime, or have received a suspicious email, find out how to report it at www.actionfraud.police.uk

Dorset Police Alert – Thefts of farm equipment

There have been 2 thefts of large farm equipment from farms in the Sturminster Newton area reported over the weekend.

Overnight on Friday the 23rd January a Lemken 4 furrow plough and a Chilton MX Mudgrabber were stolen from a farmyard in Fifehead St Quintin.

It was reported on Monday 26th January that several pieces of agricultural equipment had also been taken from a farm in the Stalbridge area. These items included an International tractor, a 12 foot long trailer, a pallet pump trolley, a red dung grabber, a yellow bell spike and a quantity of chairs.

If anybody has any information regarding these thefts then please contact Dorset Police on 101.

Thank You

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Action Fraud – How to create a strong password

Please see below a message received from Dorset Police on behalf of Action Fraud –

Fraudsters regularly hack into personal online accounts to obtain details which will allow them to defraud you. To prevent fraudsters, it’s very important to use strong passwords when setting up and accessing online accounts and online banking.

Passwords should be memorable enough not to have to write them down and long enough to be unique and hard to guess, which will ensure they are less vulnerable to being stolen. If it is not possible to remember passwords a password manager could be used to store them securely.

Protect yourself:

• Make sure passwords are memorable so that you don’t have to write them down. Make sure they are unique.

• Th!nk ab0ut how you could change the l3tters in your n0rmal passw0rds to make them more difficult to gue55!

• Use long, non-dictionary words and use different ones for each of your personal accounts and online banking. Make sure you change them regularly.

• Make sure passwords are not stored on devices that have shared access by other people, for example in internet cafes and when using other public Wi-Fi.

If you believe you have become a victim of account hacking, change your passwords immediately and report to Action Fraud: www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud

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