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COUNCIL, ACTION FRAUD & CONSTABULARY MATTERS

There is so much information issued by our local South Ribble Council that for a number of reasons, many residents may not see it all. This page has been added, in conjunction with Cllr Barrie Yates and other local councillors who supply the BBB with much of the information, in an attempt to make more people aware of news and events etc that may be of interest to them.
This also applies to information supplied to us by the Action Fraud Team, Lancashire Constabulary and Neighbourhood Watch.
As much of this information is quite extensive, it would be impractical to publish it here in its full context. What we will do however is write a short description of the subject matter and if any reader requires further information and contacts the BBB, we will then send them a full transcript by e-mail attachment, which will usually be in either 'Word' or 'PDF' format.

Right! Now that we have established how it will work, here are the issues for this edition.

See below for the various reports.

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Neighbourhood Watch News
All the latest Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter on

https://www.stayintheknow.co.uk/

https://www.stayintheknow.co.uk/Content/Pages/Latest-Alerts

Do You Know Where To Report Scam Messages?

Fake emails and text messages are a common tactic used by cyber criminals, their goal is often to convince you to click a link. Once clicked, you may be sent to a dodgy website which could download viruses onto your computer, or steal your passwords and personal information.
In order to try and convince you that their messages are legitimate, criminals will pretend to be someone you trust, or from some organisation you trust. This could be your Internet Service Provider (ISP), local council, even a friend in need. And they may contact you by phone call, email or text message.

PCC Grunshaw pledges to rebuild local community policing

Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw has today outlined his commitment to rebuild neighbourhood policing at the inaugural meeting of the Police and Crime Panel (23rd July).
During the meeting, which is made up of cross-party representatives from local authorities, Commissioner Grunshaw was questioned about how he is going to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour across Lancashire and he reiterated his commitment to get as many officers back out, visible on the streets, alongside an increase in Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
The Commissioner discussed the challenges in training up new officers, sharing his concerns about reductions in police staff and in particular PCSOs, who he described as important to building connections with their communities.
In the meeting he pledged to increase PCSO numbers that have fallen from 450 in 2010 to less than 220 in 2024.
PCC Clive Grunshaw said: "Getting as many police officers and PCSOs out on the streets, and building relationships with the communities they serve, is the most effective way to tackle crime and keep people safe. This includes investing in training and development so we can make efficient use of the resources we have.
"We have seen some encouraging results as part of Op Centurion, with additional foot patrols used to target anti-social behaviour, and we must now look to incorporate these learnings and outcomes into our wider plan for local policing – delivering a service for everyone in Lancashire, regardless of where people live.
"The King's Speech last week contained some exciting and promising bills to support local policing. These include giving police powers to crack down on knife crime, violence against women and girls and antisocial behaviour, whilst introducing new reforms to ensure that law enforcement agencies deliver in line with public expectations on policing and policing standards.
"I am committed to working with Government and our MPs to make sure we make the changes that are needed, secure the best deal for Lancashire and rebuild public trust and confidence."
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HM Revenue and Customs Alert- What you need to know
An ongoing TV Licensing phishing campaign, first identified by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) in September 2018, continues to be reported to Action Fraud in high numbers. Fraudsters are sending the public fake TV Licensing emails that are designed to steal their personal and financial information. Since April 2018, Action Fraud has received over 900 crime reports with victim losses totalling more than £830,000.

How you can protect yourself:

Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails and never respond to messages that ask for your personal or financial details.
Don’t assume a phone call or email is authentic, even if someone knows your basic details (such as your name or address). Remember, criminals can spoof phone numbers and email addresses to appear as companies you know and trust, such as TV Licensing.
Your bank will never call and ask you for your PIN, full banking password, or ask you to transfer money out of your account.

What to do if you’ve fallen victim:

Let your bank know as soon as possible and monitor your bank statements regularly for any unusual activity.
If you suspect your identity may have been stolen you can check your credit file quickly and easily online. Use a reputable service provider and follow up on any unexpected or suspicious results.
If you have been a victim of fraud or cyber crime, report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk, or by calling 0300 123 2040.

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Courier Fraud, Bogus Police and Bank Officials Alert

What you need to know.
Individuals have been receiving phone calls from people claiming to be a police officer or banking official. The suspect will say either:
There has been fraudulent activity at the victims’ bank and the staff at the bank are involved, the victim is then asked to withdraw money to either keep it safe or assist the police with their investigation
A business such as a jewellers or currency exchange is fraudulent and they require the victims’ assistance to help secure evidence by purchasing jewellery or exchange a large amount of currency to hand over to the police
The victims’ card has been compromised and used to purchase goods by a suspect, the victim is requested to withdraw their money to keep it safe or hand over their bank card to the police
What you need to do.
Occasionally the victim will be told to dial a non-emergency extension of ‘161’ to receive confirmation of the individual’s bogus identity, the bogus official will advise the victim to lie about the reason for the withdrawal or purchase if challenged by staff, as the staff member is involved in the fraud. A courier attends the victim’s home address to collect the goods the same day Often the victim is given a code word for the courier as a way of authentication.

Your bank or the police will never
* Phone and ask you for your PIN or full banking password
* Ask you to withdraw money to hand over to them for safe-keeping
* Ask you to transfer money out of your account
* Send someone to your home to collect cash, PINs, cards to cheque books

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*SCAM ALERT - PLEASE SHARE*

We've had several reports which have all been from older people saying they have been receiving phone calls from number 0203 290 0016. These calls state ‘There is a warrant out for your arrest due to tax. You need to call this number back to pay’.
It looks like calls like this have been received in a number of areas. This is a scam. HMRC and all other genuine organisations will never contact people in this way to demand money and would never say there is a warrant out for someone's arrest. Please make sure friends and relatives are aware of this and if you look after any older person, please encourage them to never give out personal or bank details over the phone and reassure them that if they ever get a call like this it's OK to put the phone straight down and not call back.
A Trading Standards Approved solution to blocking unwanted phone calls is TrueCall - This can be purchased from https://www.truecall.co.uk/
Let's help to look after each other and make sure scammers like this are wasting their time.

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Bogus Builders And Rogue Traders

We want to alert you and let you know that we continue to get reports of rogue traders and bogus builders targeting people in Lancashire, particularly those in our communities who are the most elderly and vulnerable.
Examples of their criminal behaviour can include convincing people they need building or maintenance work doing then charging extortionate prices, through to exploiting the elderly to convince them they owe money and need to hand over cash.
Please be wary if anyone comes to your door offering this type of work and have a look at our website here https://www.lancashire.police.uk/help-advice/property-safety/doorstep-crime-bogus-callers/ for tips and advice to keep you safe. As the summer holidays are almost upon us, we also know that lots of you will either be going away or looking after children. If you can, we'd urge you to take some time to check on elderly relatives or friends, make sure they are OK and encourage them to never agree to work on the doorstep without speaking to someone they trust first.
If you see anyone you don't recognise offering building or other work door to door or acting suspiciously then please report it to us, either using our online form here https://reportitonline.lancashire.police.uk/NdsPublicEngagementUi/index?force=lancashireconstabulary or by calling 101. We do take all reports of this nature really seriously.

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Watch out for these FAKE TalkTalk emails about a refund

Action Fraud has received over 100 reports recently about fake emails purporting to be from TalkTalk. The emails state that the recipient’s TalkTalk account is in credit and that they’re owed a refund. The links in the emails lead to malicious websites.
Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to messages that ask for your personal or financial details.

Teenagers Are Being Exploited By County Lines Drugs Gangs In Lancashire

Have you heard of ‘county lines’?
It’s been in the national news lately as it’s affecting families and communities up and down the country.
‘County lines’ is when urban gangs use children and vulnerable adults to expand their illegal drugs businesses into other towns.
In Lancashire we see pockets of county lines gangs coming in from Manchester, Merseyside, London, and West Yorkshire. We’re working proactively to dismantle these gangs from the top and protect the young and the vulnerable.
You might know someone who needs your help.
They might be a family member, neighbour, or someone else in your community.
Gangs recruit and force vulnerable adults and children to work as couriers, transporting drugs and cash for them. They often set up a base in towns in other counties, taking over the home of a vulnerable person and sending runners to stay there. These are ways gangs distance themselves from criminal activity so that their victims carry the risk.
Look out for children and teens who are:
Going missing from home/school without explanation
Mixing with new friends their parents don’t know
Using more than one mobile phone
Appearing nervous, scared, evasive, and/or secretive
Suffering injuries they can’t explain
Holding tickets for train or coach travel.
Look out for vulnerable adults who:
Have withdrawn from family, the community or social services support
Have lots of different visitors at unusual hours
Are in a relationship with someone controlling
Have their curtains or blinds closed most of the time
Have more anti-social behaviour close to their home.
Report any concerns anonymously to Crimestoppers
It can be hard to report concerns about someone as they may have committed offences. We’re working with Crimestoppers to make it easier.
Whether you phone them on 0800 555 111 or report your concerns online Crimestoppers won’t pass on who you are, or give any information that might suggest who you could be. We simply receive the information we need to stop these gangs and protect vulnerable people.

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How To Shop Online Safely
This is the time of the year when the online scammers are the most active. To ensure that your transaction results in the safe delivery of your purchase and not in the scammers bank account then just follow these basic rules.

Check the web address
Always check you’re on the correct website. Criminals can set up fake websites that have a similar design and web address to the genuine site.
Is it a secure connection?
Web pages you enter personal or financial details into should display a locked padlock sign and have a web address that starts with https. This means your connection to the website is secure.
Phishing
Don't click on links or attachments within unsolicited emails. The number of online shopping related phishing emails increases significantly during the holiday period.
Bank transfers
65% of Action Fraud reports during the 2016 Christmas period were linked to online auction sites. Don’t pay for goods or services by bank transfer unless you know and trust the person. Payments via bank transfer offer you no protection if you become a victim of fraud.

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Beware of the 'Smishing' scam

Smishing – the term used for SMS phishing – is an activity which enables criminals to steal victims’ money or identity, or both, as a result of a response to a text message. Smishing uses your mobile phone (either a smartphone or traditional non-internet connected handset) to manipulate innocent people into taking various actions which can lead to being defrauded.
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has received information that fraudsters are targeting victims via text message, purporting to be from their credit card provider, stating a transaction has been approved on their credit card.
The text message further states to confirm if the transaction is genuine by replying ‘Y’ for Yes or ‘N’ for No.
Through this method the fraudster would receive confirmation of the victim’s active telephone number and would be able to engage further by asking for the victim’s credit card details, CVV number (the three digits on the back of your bank card) and/or other personal information.

Protect yourself:

Always check the validity of the text message by contacting your credit card provider through the number provided at the back of the card or on the credit card/bank statement.
Beware of cold calls purporting to be from banks and/or credit card providers.
If the phone call from the bank seems suspicious, hang up the phone and wait for 10 minutes before calling the bank back. Again, refer to the number at the back of the card or on the bank statement in order to contact your bank.
If you have been a victim of fraud or cyber crime, please report it to Action Fraud at http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ or alternatively by calling 0300 123 2040

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Be careful which emails you open!

Extremely URGENT - PLEASE READ AND TELL ALL YOUR CONTACTS.

Anyone-using Internet mail such as Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and so on.. This information arrived recently, direct from both Microsoft and Norton. Please forward it to everybody you know who has access to the Internet. You may receive an apparently harmless e-mail titled 'Mail Server Report' If you open the file, a message will appear on your screen saying: 'It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful.' Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC, And the person who sent it to you will gain access to your name, e-mail and password and possibly your bank account details. This is a new virus which started to circulate earlier this month.. AOL has already confirmed the severity, and the antivirus softwares are not capable of destroying it yet. The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself 'life owner'.. PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS E-MAIL TO ALL YOUR CONTACTS, and ask them to PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY!

Beware of the fake bank letters!

Lloyds customers should be on the lookout for a new sophisticated fraud that involves fraudsters sending fake bank letters.
The convincing letters being sent are a replica template from Lloyds and include their logo, address and signature from a customer service representative.
The letter tells recipients that there have been some 'unusual transactions' on their personal account and asks them to call a number highlighted in bold to confirm they are genuine.
When victims call the number, an automated welcome message is played and the caller is asked to enter their card number, account number and sort code followed by their date of birth.Victims are then instructed to enter the first and last digit of their security number.
The fraud was spotted by the Daily Telegraph who was alerted to it by a reader who had three identical letters sent to an office address. On separate occasions the Daily Telegraph ran some tests using fake details and were passed to fraudsters who claimed to be from a Lloyds contact centre. The bank has confirmed that the phone number and letters are fake.
The letters are essentially a sophisticated phishing attempt and serves as a warning to consumers to question written correspondence from their banks.
If you are ever suspicious about correspondence from your bank you should call the customer serviced number on the back of their card.
To report a fraud and cyber crime, call us on 0300 123 2040 or visit http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud

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Are You Looking for A Reputable Trader?

The Safe Trader Scheme is operated by Lancashire County Council Trading Standards Service to assist residents of Lancashire to find reputable local traders for property repairs, home improvements, gardening services, mobility aids and other services around the home.
Traders on the Scheme have all demonstrated their commitment to fair and honest trading by signing up to the Scheme's Code of Practice, and have agreed to work with Trading Standards should any dispute arise.
You can search for a local registered trader via the Safe Trader website www.safetrader.org.uk or by phone on 0303 333 1111. All you need to provide are your postcode and the type of trade you are looking for and a list of relevant businesses will be produced in an order relevant to your postcode. If searching via the website you can compare businesses by checking out their profile pages and the customer reviews they have received.
If you do have any work carried out please leave feedback for the trader on the website. This will assist both the Scheme and will help businesses to ensure that they are providing the best service possible to their customers.

For more information, visit page 1h of the BBB

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Scam Warning - Fake Virgin Media Emails

Fraudsters send fake Virgin Media emails threatening 'automatic disconnection'
Action Fraud has received over 100 reports about fake emails that purport to be from Virgin Media. The emails threaten the recipient with 'automatic disconnection' due to 'invalid billing information'. The links in the emails lead to genuine-looking phishing websites that are designed to steal your Virgin Media account login details.
Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to messages that ask for your personal or financial details.

For more information on how to stay secure online, visit www.cyberaware.gov.uk
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Drivers Targeted With Fake Fines

What you need to know

Action Fraud have received an increase in reports and intelligence where elderly victims are being targeted by individuals purporting to be police officers or traffic wardens. The victims are being approached whilst parked in a car park and are told by the suspect that they have parked illegally or broken a speed limit and a photo has been taken of their car for ‘evidence’.
Victims are advised that they will face a substantial penalty fine unless they pay a smaller upfront fee immediately. Victims, who opt for paying the smaller penalty, will be directed to a parking meter and asked to enter their card and PIN. These parking meters have been tampered with by the suspect in order to retain the card.
Once the victim inserts their card and are asked for their PIN, the victims are shoulder surfed for their PIN by the suspect. Once victims input their PIN, the card is retained by the machine and victims are told by the suspect to seek help from the company who operates the parking meter or their bank.

What you need to do

If you are suspicious about the authenticity of the fine, do not pay it until you have verified it with your local council.
Always shield your PIN from view when using an ATM machine, and never share your PIN with anyone.
If your bank card is retained by an ATM machine, contact your bank immediately to inform them.