WINSHAM NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH and Local Health Support |
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24/02/2021 9788 Somerset: Lloyds Bank, Text Message Scam
Dear Members,
One of our coordinators in Cheddar, has very kindly made me aware of
this latest scam. I then had a conversation with a very helpful member
of staff from Lloyds bank who offered some useful tips.
The scam itself which you can view on the attached document comes from a
random mobile number suggesting a new payee has been linked in your app
and to click on the below link if this was NOT you. (Please do not do
this)
Having queried this, two details are missing. When contacted in this way
legitimately by Lloyds they will always include your name and the last 4
digits of your account number.
If you do receive one of these messages do please take a moment to
ensure these details are included, if indeed you do bank with Lloyds.
Attachments:
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From Brian Turner-1st February 2021: A
caller will state they are from BT, and you have an unsettled balance on
your account of £****, you will be disconnected if immediate payment if
not made and the bill will rise when re connected at a later date. When challenged, they provide a false name, last used was 'John
Peacock' and a strong foreign accent was detected, the caller states
they can prove they are from BT and goes through a process where they
pretend to disconnect the line momentarily. The recipient is asked to
end the call and try and call someone else which they find is not
possible The reason this is not possible is the caller had initiated the
call and only they can terminate, they simply mute the phone to make it
appear they are not there, this gives the impression the line is dead.
When the Scam caller hears you stop trying to call out, they will clear
the line and call you back giving the impression they have re connected
your line. At this point you may feel reassured this is genuine, IT IS NOT. If in any doubt call your provider and check with them, never hand
over your bank details to someone that calls you out of the blue. You were sent this message because you are in the
following group(s): Winsham (Winsham, TA204JY). |
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Important Message from Government Counter
Fraud Protection concerning Covid-19 Vaccine Fraud (17th January 2021) Click HERE |
A warning from Stewart Binns... A worrying telephone scam,
operating under the guise of a 01460 number, has been reported by
Stewart Binns. A pre-recorded warning, claiming to be from BT told
Stewart that his internet connection been compromised and was about to
be turned off. The message then claimed that this can be mitigated
by pressing ‘5’ on the phone number pad. Stewart then questioned the gentleman who responded
on # 5 and soon became suspicious, particularly when the man became
evasive about who he was and from where he was calling. He then rang
off. Stewart then contacted BT, who confirmed that it
was a scam. No doubt the purpose of the call was to harvest data,
probably for resale to other villains to use as part of other scams.
Nothing new there, but what is new, and of concern to BT is the use of
the exchange number, to falsely imply that the call is from our general
locality, offering a sense of false security. BT also suggested that the
use of 01460 may indicate that there will be a surge in these types of
calls in our area.
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12/10/20 9788 Somerset: Rogue trader warning after Weston-super-Mare couple lose £2,000
Homeowners are being warned to be wary of rogue traders following an incident in Weston-super-Mare. A couple, aged in the 70s and 80s, contacted a firm they found on a price comparison website offering a guttering cleaning service. Two men turned up in a van at a property in the Hillside area of town at approximately 10.30am on Monday 7 September. After inspecting the guttering, they told the couple the roof also required fixing before quoting a price of £3,500 for the job. They claimed to need a £2,000 cash payment to purchase materials, before returning to carry out the work. Having received the cash, they left and never returned to the address. Both men were white. One was described as wearing a dark black stretcher style earring with very short dark hair. The other appeared older and spoke with Irish accent. Enquiries have been carried out and show a vehicle we are hoping to track down as part of our investigation. The van is described as being a white Ford Transit, with roof bars and a side bar. Following this incident, residents are encouraged to take note of the following crime prevention advice, particularly regarding being alert to rogue traders and distraction burglaries: •Never open the door to an unexpected caller until you’ve checked their identification – use a door chain or viewer, intercom or a ‘smart’ doorbell. Genuine callers expect it. •If you’re not sure, don’t open the door. •Never agree to have work done or part with money on your doorstep and ideally get written quotes from at least two traders for any work. Always agree a start and finish date and agree a price before any work starts on your home. •If you are suspicious of a caller tell us straight away – ring 999 if you feel threatened or intimidated, otherwise call 101. •Store any high value items such as jewellery, passports and cash in a properly secured and hidden safe or bank vault. •Keep windows and doors secured if you’re not in the room and never keep large sums of money in the house. •If you see someone calling door-to-door, but only on frail or elderly neighbours, call 999 straight away. •Ask a trusted neighbour to help you deal with unexpected callers. •Look out for vulnerable and elderly neighbours and make sure they know what to do when they receive an unexpected caller. •Join Neighbourhood Watch. •If you think you’ve been deceived, are concerned about a trader or have any doubts call 101 or Citizens Advice Consumer Services. Anyone who can help with our investigation, recognises seeing the van photographed or has experienced a similar incident, is asked to call 101 and give reference number 5220203810. Attachments: You were sent this message because you are in the following group(s): Winsham (Winsham, TA204JY).
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26/08/20 9788 Somerset: TV Licence Scams.
Dear Members, I am sure we have all received an email claiming to be from TV
Licensing at some point in the past, but this is one scam that appears
to keep on going. One of our members has recently emailed me with a slightly new
version of this scam and I have decided to share this with you to make
you aware of what to look out for. The email has been sanitised to
protect the members identity. I have placed a couple of obvious pointers
on there for your information. On the attached document is some additional useful information
provided by the Age UK website. Kind regards Paul Johnson NHW Admin (Somerset) Attachments: |
21/08/20 9788 Somerset: Important Scam Update
Dear Members, This morning one of our Coordinators has kindly advised us that
another of their members received an automated telephone call claiming
to be from Amazon stating that they had opened an Amazon Prime Account. They are then told if they wish to cancel they should press 1 on
their keypad. The call is then transferred to a fraudster posing as an Amazon
operative who will then advise them the purchase went through as a
result of a “Security Flaw” on their computer. They will then ask for remote access to your computer to “rectify
this problem”, this is to steal your personal information. NEVER ALLOW ANYONE TO REMOTELY ACCESS YOUR PERSONAL COMPUTER IF THEY
HAVE CONTACTED YOU. The helpful guidance attached has been sourced from the Genuine
Amazon Website: Attachments: |
20/08/20 9788 Somerset: Rogue Traders (Let's get ahead of them)
Dear Members, My colleague in South Gloucestershire has shared the below Community
Alert message and after reading it I felt this may be important to share
with you. They could head our way at some point!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There have been numerous reports of rogue traders throughout the
South Gloucestershire area during the last two days. Two males have
called on a resident of Bredon, Yate, offering to repair damage to the
roof for £800 which was rejected, although it was agreed that the pair
would clean the guttering for £180. The suspects then left after 5
minutes, after asking the resident to sign some form of document. An elderly male was approached by a male as he walked along Quarry
Road in Alveston. The suspect claimed that he had done work for the
victim before, but fortunately an off-duty police officer noticed what
was going on and the offender walked off when the officer approached. Another vulnerable resident was stopped by a male on Alcacia Road in
Staple Hill who said that he had done work for her before and asked if
she wanted anything else done. The female said that she needed some damp
work done and the offender said he wanted some money in advance to buy
some materials. Fortunately the resident remembered that he hadn’t done
any work for her before so refused to hand over any money. We have sent messages previously about cold callers and doorstep
traders, but we now want to extend that warning to include anyone who
approaches people asking for work and claiming that they know you, or
have worked for you in the past. Always use traders who have been recommended to you by someone you
trust. Get a written quote on headed notepaper and never pay in cash. Be
wary of anyone asking if you need any work done or someone who “just
happened” to notice that there was some damage they could fix straight
away |
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The item below is an extract from an item
sent in by Rose Richards (Parish Clerk) relating to help detect
fraudulent e-mails-well worth reading-and remembering:
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25/06/20 9788 Somerset: Covid-19 Related Frauds & Scams a useful guide.
Dear Members, The attached booklet has been created to address some of the most
common Frauds & Scams and to provide some insight on how to best protect
yourselves, this includes those currently working from home. Please do
take a moment to read through the information as there is also key
information regarding the NHS Test and Trace system. Kind regards Paul Johnson NHW Admin (Somerset) Attachments: |
24/06/20 9788 Somerset: Warning after phone fraud in Somerset costs
victim £13,000
People in Somerset are being reminded to be vigilant of telephone
fraudsters following several reports of scams in the past fortnight. We’ve been contacted by one person who lost £13,000, while we’ve
received four similar reports this month from others. The five victims
live in the area around Chard. In all five cases the victims received calls from scammers posed as
police officers from London. They claimed the victims’ money was at risk
from a rogue bank employee and asked them to make a substantial
withdrawal from their bank, but not tell staff why they wanted to take
out such a large amount of cash. Two of the victims hung up on the call
and reported the matter to the police. The other three victims attended their local bank, but in two cases
the bank staff felt the circumstances were suspicious and informed Avon
and Somerset Police. In the third instance, the victim took out £13,000 and left the money
to be picked up by a male courier, described as white, 5ft 10ins to 6ft,
with messy hair – dirty blond to grey hair in colour – dark trousers,
dark grey top, logo on the right side and of medium build, with no
discernible accent. The two victims – both women in their 70s – who were prevented from
withdrawing the money by their bank, have issued advice to people who
may find themselves in a similar situation. One said: “My advice would be to discuss it with a family member or
talk to someone who is close to you before you proceed.” The second victim said: “I feel very, very stupid. I feel so small,
stupid and pathetic. “I’ve never come into contact with that side of life so it didn’t
occur to me that it might be a scam.” When asked what advice she would give to others who may find
themselves in a similar situation, she replied: “Put the phone down and
report it to police.” Neither the police nor the banks will ask you for banking details or
PIN numbers on the phone. Similarly, they would never send a courier to
collect bank cards or money. Our message is – don’t discuss your finances with anyone who calls
you out of the blue, even if they claim to be a police officer or a
representative from a bank fraud department. Genuine callers will be happy for you to make an appointment to visit
them at a bank branch or police station. They will never ask you to
withdraw cash on their behalf; arrange for cash to be collected by a
courier; ask for details about your bank card; or ask for the PIN on
your card. If you know someone who may be vulnerable to this type of offence,
please speak to them and share our crime prevention tips and remind them
of the threat from telephone fraudsters. People who receive a call on their landline and are asked to contact
their local police station or bank to verify the caller’s details
ideally need to put the receiver down and not touch it for five minutes,
just in case the fraudster has kept the line open. Ensure you have a
dialling tone before re-using. Ideally use another phone such as a
mobile phone or a neighbour’s phone and use 101 to verify the call. We would also appeal to taxi drivers who are asked to collect parcels
– especially from elderly – to be vigilant and contact us if they are
suspicious. DS Louise Sinclair said: “The trusting nature of elderly and
vulnerable victims is often preyed on by criminals who target them. “Under no circumstances should people withdraw cash from their bank
accounts as a result of a telephone call, and if you have received a
call like this, or ever do so in the future, please do report it so we
can put a stop to this crime. “I can understand why anyone who has lost money to fraudsters in this
way may be reluctant to report it because of feeling ashamed or
embarrassed, but there is no need to be. We know how devious and cunning
these people are. “Any legitimate bank employee or police officer would never ask you
to withdraw money, transfer it to a different account or send a courier
to pick up your money. Bank staff will never ask you to reveal your full
banking password or PIN and they would never ask you not to tell bank
staff why you are withdrawing money. “Contact your bank immediately if you think you have fallen victim to
a scam and report it to Action Fraud.” Anyone with information about the incidents in Somerset should call
101 and quote reference 5220128467. More information on protecting yourself from fraud is available on
our website and from Action Fraud.
https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/ |
05/06/20 9788 Somerset: Loft Insulation Scam Warning – Important Update
Dear Members, We have received numerous calls following the Alert message
about the Loft Insulation Scam which was sent on Friday the 29th May. In
future, we would like to ask all recipients of this message to contact
ActionFraud directly if they receive one of these calls. You can report
this by contacting them on 0300 123 2040 between 8am and 8pm, Monday to
Friday. Alternatively you can email them at: |
22nd May, 2020SCAMS ABOUND-TAKE CARELots of people are talking about scams they have run into. Phone calls that promise this and that, always in return tor giving up precious information about yourself. To use the phraseology of the day they are mutating very rapidly, presenting themselves as being from local authorities, banks, police etc. etc; but always at the end they want information about you! To make things more difficult, not all calls from outside sources are scams, but these do not seek personal information-certainly not Pin numbers or bank account details. Use your instincts, and if anything does not sound right, cut off the call. If the topic is genuine, they can always write! Or even call back! My experience is that they never do. Don't forget the old adage-'You are only conned by the people you trust!' *** Now we are still in the grip of the Corona virus pandemic, it is apparent that health security is as important as protecting ourselves from crime.To help defend our community by offering advice on protecting ourselves from infection, space will be shared on this web page with advice from the Police in protecting our property. It will offer ideas for protection, often found on Facebook and other media, which seem sensible. These always supplement, never replace, the advice from the Government which is very widely distributed i.e social distancing, regular washing of hands, use of antiseptic alcohol gels, avoid touching your face, etc.
Always wash your hands as quickly as possible after using any of the above, especially if you have been unable to protect your hands, and dispose of the protection, hygienically, as quickly as possible after use. Lets have your tips for practical steps for minimising the risk of infection. But don't let us get paranoid about the issue-mental health is also important. Coping with the virus is one of life's many challenges, which for the most part we survive! *** Some general information about cooking food, which applies at all times, can be seen on the link below to the Food Services Agency web site https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/cooking-your-food *** Chard Covid19 Support Group-a newly formed group offer some very useful services, including prescription delivery services to vulnerable people. Just used it myself-very nice people to deal with. Tel: 01460 239567 or visit their web site. They are also looking for volunteers. - Click HERE ***
The Ilminster Beat team who look after Winsham, called in for a cup of coffee at the Jubilee Cafe, and took the opportunity to talk to residents about problems.***
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