Advice and warnings to keep our residents safe and promote community awareness
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
WAR Warwickshire Community Resource
Warwickshire Community Resource is a FREE database which enables
organisations in Warwickshire to swap, share and trade resources for low
cost or no cost rates. The database is available to all organisations
big or small and open to the voluntary and community sector, statutory
sector, businesses and social enterprises.
WAR Burglars Target Jewellery
Click on to this
link for details:-
Relayed to you via
Kineton Neighbourhood Watch
WAR Recruitment of Community Ambassadors by Warwickshire Police & Crime Commissioner
NHW WK SA Recruitment of Community Ambassadors by Warwickshire Police & Crime Commissioner
Please see the attached advertisement for the recruitment of 30 Community Ambassadors across Warwickshire to support the Police & Crime Commissioner, Ron Ball.
Applications are welcomed from anyone who wants to make a difference in their local community and details of how to apply, and of who to contact for further information, are included in the poster.
Completed applications will be welcomed up until 12 noon on Monday 3 June 2013.
Please pass this on to anyone that you know who may be interested in applying for this important and rewarding role.
Thankyou
Julie Dale
Watch Co-ordinator
Community Protection
ADVERTISEMENT COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS
Please see the attached advertisement for the recruitment of 30 Community Ambassadors across Warwickshire to support the Police & Crime Commissioner, Ron Ball.
Applications are welcomed from anyone who wants to make a difference in their local community and details of how to apply, and of who to contact for further information, are included in the poster.
Completed applications will be welcomed up until 12 noon on Monday 3 June 2013.
Please pass this on to anyone that you know who may be interested in applying for this important and rewarding role.
Thankyou
Julie Dale
Watch Co-ordinator
Community Protection
ADVERTISEMENT COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS
WAR Trading Standards Update 21/05/2013
21/05/2013 Genuine PPI claim? Advanced Fee Ukash Warning
21/05/2013 Businesses
Warned of Google Advertising Con!
A Warwickshire business reported to Trading Standards receive an unexpected call from a trader claiming to sell advertising on Google web pages. Eventually the business agreed to pay over £100 for set up charges and over £50 per month for the advertising. However, when the business looked to see if they could find their advertisement on-line, they could not. They then tried to cancel the agreement and found that the phone line of the trader was dead.
Businesses should ensure they always research carefully any trader offering advertising. Ensure that the trader is legitimate, has a verifiable address and can show evidence that they can deliver what they promise. Never simply buy goods or services from unexpected callers.
More on publication scams: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/Web/corporate/wccweb.nsf/Links/5D0649278E3ED2CB80257886003647F7/$file/20120111_Business_scams.pdf
21/05/2013 Computer ‘Slowdown’ Con
A Warwickshire consumer reported to Trading Standards receiving an unexpected phone call from someone who claimed to be calling from ‘technical support’ to deal with a ‘problem’ with the consumer’s computer. The bogus ‘problem’ was described as a slow internet connection which the caller said may be due to a virus.
Had the consumer agreed to allow the caller access to his computer, the caller would probably have either stolen information or charged for adding unnecessary programs to the consumer’s PC.
21/05/2013 HMRC Warning
HMRC is aware of a letter which is being issued to companies and sole-traders by post requesting their VAT registration details to update a website portal.
Although this is not believed to be a phishing scam, there is an ‘offer’ from the company sending the letter to ‘advertise’ customer details on a German website for £797 per year. The cost of doing this is not clear until the small print is read.
This is nothing to do with HMRC and there is no legal obligation to reply to the letter or provide the sender with any details about your business.
Warwickshire Trading Standards Service are reminding consumers
using legitimate PPI claims companies that they should not have to pay money up
front and in advance to receive their pay-out. If you are asked to send
money in advance, for example using Ukash vouchers or Western Union
transfer, then it is highly likely you are being scammed.
One Warwickshire consumer reported that she was contacted
by a fraudster who pretend to be the genuine PPI claim back company she was
using. The fraudster told her that she was in line to receive a higher pay-out
than she had been led to expect. Her cheque would be brought to her home, but
only after she paid a fee in advance via Ukash vouchers!
Never pay up front to receive a refund, compensation or prize
money. Be extremely wary if you are asked to send money using Ukash vouchers or
by Western Union transfer. Fraudsters use these legitimate businesses because
it makes them difficult to trace. For more information on advanced fee fraud visit:
http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/fraud-az-advance-fee-fraud
A Warwickshire business reported to Trading Standards receive an unexpected call from a trader claiming to sell advertising on Google web pages. Eventually the business agreed to pay over £100 for set up charges and over £50 per month for the advertising. However, when the business looked to see if they could find their advertisement on-line, they could not. They then tried to cancel the agreement and found that the phone line of the trader was dead.
Businesses should ensure they always research carefully any trader offering advertising. Ensure that the trader is legitimate, has a verifiable address and can show evidence that they can deliver what they promise. Never simply buy goods or services from unexpected callers.
More on publication scams: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/Web/corporate/wccweb.nsf/Links/5D0649278E3ED2CB80257886003647F7/$file/20120111_Business_scams.pdf
21/05/2013 Computer ‘Slowdown’ Con
A Warwickshire consumer reported to Trading Standards receiving an unexpected phone call from someone who claimed to be calling from ‘technical support’ to deal with a ‘problem’ with the consumer’s computer. The bogus ‘problem’ was described as a slow internet connection which the caller said may be due to a virus.
Had the consumer agreed to allow the caller access to his computer, the caller would probably have either stolen information or charged for adding unnecessary programs to the consumer’s PC.
21/05/2013 HMRC Warning
HMRC is aware of a letter which is being issued to companies and sole-traders by post requesting their VAT registration details to update a website portal.
Although this is not believed to be a phishing scam, there is an ‘offer’ from the company sending the letter to ‘advertise’ customer details on a German website for £797 per year. The cost of doing this is not clear until the small print is read.
This is nothing to do with HMRC and there is no legal obligation to reply to the letter or provide the sender with any details about your business.
Please
feel free to cascade this information to whomever you feel appropriate
(including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.).
If you have any information you wish to provide to
Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, either for our information, or
to appear in future email alerts, please email me.
For more information on scams, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams
Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss
Simon Cripwell
Trading Standards Officer
Warwickshire Trading Standards Service
Communities
Warwickshire County Council
Old Budbrooke Road Warwick CV35 7DP
Tel: 01926 414039
Mob: 07771 975570
Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss
My normal working days are Monday to Thursday
Friday, 17 May 2013
WAR - Cash Exchange Scam
Shopkeepers beware;
click on to this link for details;
Kineton Neighbourhood Watch
WEL - Attempted theft of motorbike, Kineton
Please be aware of
an attempt to steal a motorbike from an address in Mill Street
Kineton
Neighbourhood Watch
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Vehicle of Interest - Audi TT DX57 TYK
NHW ST Urgent Obs for stolen car used in crime.
Metallic Beige Audi TT on plates similar to DX57TYK
Please call 101 immediatedly if you see this vehicle.
Metallic Beige Audi TT on plates similar to DX57TYK
Please call 101 immediatedly if you see this vehicle.
NHW SA Incidents in Avon Dassett, Fenny Compton, Long Itchington & Ufton + Catalytic converter marking kits
Please be aware of the following incidents which have occurred in your area over recent days:
Incident 167 of 22 April
Between 10 March and 16 April offenders entered an insecure shed in the garden of a home in Avon Dassett but nothing was stolen.
Incident 191 of 22 AprilBetween 15 and 19 April offenders forced the lock off a shed in the garden of another home in Avon Dassett and stole many items including a drill, an electric screwdriver and a power surge protector.
Incident 84 of 25 April
During the night of 19 into 20 April offenders entered a vehicle parked outside a home in Berry Meadow, Fenny Compton and stole a mobile phone from inside.
Incident 64 of 26 AprilDuring last
night, 25 into 26 April, offenders entered the grounds of Long
Itchington Primary School, in Stockton Road, Long Itchington and stole a
large quantity of lead fron around 7 ventilation units and a very large
flat roof.
The offenders would have required a vehicle to carry the heavy lead away from the scene so if you noticed any suspicious activity in the area of the school please ring 101 and tell Police what you saw or heard.
Incident 329 of 23 April
At some point before 8.20pm on 23 April offenders pierced a hole in the door of a vehicle parked in Berry Meadow, Fenny Compton but did not enter the vehicle and nothing was stolen.
Incident 34 of 24 AprilBetween 7.15am on 23 and 10pm on 24 April offenders stole a catalytic converter from a 4x4 vehicle parked on the driveway of a home in Odingsell Drive, Long Itchington.
Incident 44 of 24 April
During the night of 23 into 24 April offenders stole the catalytic converter from a 4x4 vehicle parked outside a home in Southam Road, Ufton.
Catalytic converter marking kits are now available from Warwickshire Police. The are £5 each and if you require one, contact your coordinator, visit the NHW Post in Sainsburys on Shires Retail Park or contact your local SNT. Thankyou.
Julie Dale
Watch Co-ordinator
Community Protection
The offenders would have required a vehicle to carry the heavy lead away from the scene so if you noticed any suspicious activity in the area of the school please ring 101 and tell Police what you saw or heard.
Incident 329 of 23 April
At some point before 8.20pm on 23 April offenders pierced a hole in the door of a vehicle parked in Berry Meadow, Fenny Compton but did not enter the vehicle and nothing was stolen.
Incident 34 of 24 AprilBetween 7.15am on 23 and 10pm on 24 April offenders stole a catalytic converter from a 4x4 vehicle parked on the driveway of a home in Odingsell Drive, Long Itchington.
Incident 44 of 24 April
During the night of 23 into 24 April offenders stole the catalytic converter from a 4x4 vehicle parked outside a home in Southam Road, Ufton.
Catalytic converter marking kits are now available from Warwickshire Police. The are £5 each and if you require one, contact your coordinator, visit the NHW Post in Sainsburys on Shires Retail Park or contact your local SNT. Thankyou.
Julie Dale
Watch Co-ordinator
Community Protection
Trading Standards Scam Update - 07/05/2013
07/05/2013
Bag Scam Residents
are advised to check carefully before they employ traders to remove rubbish
from their property. This
warning comes after a Coventry resident hired a two ton bag to clear some
rubbish from his home. The consumer had seen an advertisement on a small adds
website which only carried a telephone number and no address. The
trader dropped the bag off at the resident’s property and the resident paid the
trader in full for the bag and for its removal and disposal, after it had been
filled. The
resident filled the bag but the trader refused to return to collect the
rubbish, becoming quite aggressive on the phone and has since disappeared! For
more information visit: http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/blog/2013/05/02/check-before-you-chuck/
07/05/2013
Telephone Preference Service Scam A consumer contacted Warwickshire Trading Standards after
receiving an unexpected phone call from someone who claimed they could get unexpected
phone calls stopped for £1.80! The consumer gave the caller his card details
and the caller took almost £70 from his account. The consumer does not know the
name of the caller. Trading Standards advise consumers not to provide their
card details to anyone who calls them. It is free to join the Telephone
Preference Service (http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html).
07/05/2013
Computer Virus Scam A consumer reported to Warwickshire Trading Standards
that he was using his computer when there was a ‘big flash’ and a notice
appeared warning him that he had accessed illegal websites, his computer was
now ‘locked’ and he must pay a fine of £100 in Ukash vouchers. The message
included a photo of a policeman and reference to Cheshire Police. This is a well-known computer virus called ransomware.
Computer users must not send any money and seek professional advice to remove
the virus. For more information visit: https://www.getsafeonline.org/protecting-yourself/ransomware/
07/05/2013
‘E-Book’ High Pressure Selling Businesses
in Warwickshire are warned to beware of high pressure selling phone calls from publishers
offering advertising space in ‘e-books’, or electronic books. One Warwickshire
trader reported spending 30min on the phone after an unexpected call who wanted
them to part with £8000! Warwickshire
Trading Standards advise Warwickshire traders not to agree to buying goods and
services from unexpected phone callers. For more information visit: http://tinyurl.com/8rexdcr
07/05/2013 Scams Awareness Month: Rugby
residents get the scams message Free
information and advice on scams and frauds will be available for Rugby
residents at the Clock Towers Shopping Centre on Thursday 9 May (9am to
mid-afternoon). For more
information visit: http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/blog/2013/05/02/rugby-residents-get-the-scams-message/
07/05/2013 Alarm Sale Warning Kineton Consumers
in the Kineton area reported receiving unexpected phone calls from an alarm
sales company that claimed to be ‘working in the local area’. Warwickshire
Trading Standards advise residents not to buy alarms from any unexpected doorstep
callers or to accept a ‘free’ alarm in return for signing an agreement for a
monitored alarm. Beware of
businesses that use high pressure selling to sell overpriced and unnecessary alarms
and ‘monitoring’ agreements. Some are known to have set up and gone out of
business within a few years, leaving consumers with worthless contracts. Get security
advice from your local Police Crime Prevention Officer. For more information visit: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/20111101_alarm_sales.pdf
29/04/2013 May is Scams Awareness
Month
Have you
won the Euro lottery, been told that a relative has left you £millions in a
Hong Kong Bank account or received an unexpected phone call to let you know
your computer needs fixing? If the answer is yes, then you are one of the
thousands of Warwickshire residents who are targeted each year by scammers!
Fortunately,
help is at hand. This May, Warwickshire's Consumer Empowerment Partnership is
raising awareness of the many and varied mass marketing scams perpetrated by
fraudsters and criminal gangs.
For more
information visit: http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/blog/2013/04/29/may-is-scams-awareness-month-2013/
29/04/2013 Rugby Driveway Cleaning
Warning
Warwickshire
Trading Standards are warning Rugby residents to beware rogue traders offering
‘driveway cleaning services’. One resident reported that her mother had been
targeted by a rogue trader offering to clean her driveway. Three men driving an
unmarked white van door knocked at her mother’s home and offered to clean her
driveway for £200, down from £249 as a ‘special offer’. The elderly lady did
not want the work doing but felt pressurised in to agreeing. The rogue traders
told her that if it was not done today it would cost more and demanded cash. No
paperwork was provided and no cancellation rights were given. Fore more
information on rogue traders visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams
29/04/2013 Wine ‘Investment’
Consumers are
warned to beware of cold calls from traders offering investments in unregulated
products such as wine. One consumer reported to Warwickshire Trading Standards
that he had lost almost £30,000 after a trader failed to pay him back the money
he had invested. For more information on unregulated investments visit: http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/blog/2013/01/08/wine-investors-250000-in-the-red/
29/04/2013 Check Before You Renew
Warwickshire
Trading Standards are advising consumers to check that they are on an official
website before they apply for or renew their passport, EHIC card or driving
license. Unofficial websites have sprung up offering similar services, for
which they charge a fee over and above the actual cost. A Warwickshire consumer
complained that she had paid £23.50 for two EHIC cards after visiting an
unofficial website. The EHIC card is free to obtain from the NHS. To avoid any
risk of identity fraud, always use an official and secure website before
inputting any personal data. For more information visit: http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/blog/2013/04/23/check-before-you-renew/
29/04/2013 Southam Tarmac Gang Warning
Warwickshire
Trading Standards are warning residents to beware of a tarmac gang operating
door to door in the Southam area. The rogue traders claimed to be based in
Manchester but enquiries suggested that they were not at the address given.
Like many rogue traders operating today, they have many of the same trappings
as legitimate traders such as websites and 0800 numbers.
29/04/2013 Silver Scam
Residents
wishing to sell gold and silver items are advised to ensure that the person
they are selling to is bona fide warn Warwickshire Trading Standards. This
follows a complaint from one resident who read an advert placed in a local newspaper
for unwanted silver items. The consumer took some of his silver positions which
the trader agreed to auction. However, the trader later disappeared claiming he
had ‘gone out of business’. The consumer received neither a payment for his
silver or the silver items back.
29/04/2013 Pressure Wash Warning
Warwickshire
consumer complained to Trading Standards after she paid a rogue trader £1500 to
pressure wash her roof and paint it. The rogue trader had door knocked and said
he was working in the local area. He caused £200 worth of damage to the roof
whilst carrying out the ‘work’ (pressure washing your roof can seriously damage
it) and then disappeared. He had used a false address. The 0800 telephone
number and a mobile number he gave he could not be contacted on.
Please feel free to cascade this information to whomever you feel appropriate
(including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.).
If you have any information you wish to
provide to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, either for our information,
or to appear in future email alerts, please email me.
For more information on scams, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams
For more information on scams, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams
Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss
Simon Cripwell
Trading Standards Officer
Warwickshire Trading Standards Service
Communities
Warwickshire County Council
Old Budbrooke Road Warwick CV35 7DP
Tel: 01926 414039
Mob: 07771 975570
Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss
My normal working days are Monday to Thursday
Friday, 29 March 2013
Replacing your windows? Consider security
BS7950 windows are recommended by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), because they achieve a minimum level of security sufficient to deter the majority of opportunist burglars.
Evaluations of the police Secured by Design (SBD) project, which requires the use of BS7950/ PAS 24:2012 windows, strongly indicates that their use has worked to reduce the vulnerability of houses to burglary and have contributed to the 50% fewer burglaries experienced by SBD homes as compared to homes not built to SBD standards.
FULL ARTICLE
Evaluations of the police Secured by Design (SBD) project, which requires the use of BS7950/ PAS 24:2012 windows, strongly indicates that their use has worked to reduce the vulnerability of houses to burglary and have contributed to the 50% fewer burglaries experienced by SBD homes as compared to homes not built to SBD standards.
FULL ARTICLE
The key to secure access for the elderly and infirm
25 March 2013
The key to secure access for the elderly and infirm
Medical professionals and carers of the elderly, disabled or infirm living in their own homes, can be hampered in their attempts to reach inhabitants by the very security installed to protect them. The only police approved domestic 'Key Box' is therefore hugely important for gaining access to premises in life-threatening situations. Read more here
National Stalking Awareness Day 2013
National Stalking Awareness Day will take place on 18th April 2013.
National Stalking Awareness Day exists to raise awareness about the crime of stalking. Each year there is a different ‘theme’ and because of the recent stalking law changes, this year’s focus is ‘Know the Law, Use the Law’. Currently the law is slightly different in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland but importantly stalking behaviour is against the law across the UK.
More information about National Stalking Awareness Day 2013 can be found here, where you can also download a number of pre-made presentations, posters and leaflets to help you raise awareness of the day.
Trading Standards Update
21/03/2013 Beware Negative Option
Marketing
Adverts are
appearing on social media websites promoting ‘free’ product trials for goods
including beauty products and slimming pills.
Consumers are
encouraged to take part and provide their credit or debit card details to pay
for postage and packing.
But, hidden
in the small print is a monthly subscription agreement that could cost them
over £1000 a year if they don’t return the items quickly and cancel.
However, the
unscrupulous foreign based businesses behind these offers make it incredibly
difficult for consumers to cancel in time and quickly begin taking money from
their credit or debit cards.
Advice to consumers:
• Never
provide your credit or debit card to any business you don’t know or trust.
• Beware of any ‘free trial’ offers.
• Always read the small print.
• Search
for the business on-line. If they are dodgy, someone on the Internet is likely
to have already posted a warning.
• If
you are a victim, contact your bank as soon as possible to cancel the recurring
payments. You have a legal right to have these payments cancelled. Even if the
business refuses, your bank must cancel them for you.
21/03/2013 Bogus Pop-Up Offer
A
Warwickshire consumer reported to Trading Standards seeing a pop-up appear on his
screen after visiting a well-known on-line retailer. The pop-up asked for the
consumer’s credit card details in order to receive 10% off his next purchase.
Trading
Standards
warn that it is unlikely that these unusual pop-ups are genuine. More
likely, they are an indication that the computer has been infected with a
virus. Never input credit or debit card details in to a pop-up. If you
do need to use your credit card or debit card on-line, ensure you trust
the website
and can see that it is secure (look for the padlock sign in the web
browser).
13/03/2013 ‘Free’ Security Survey
A Warwickshire consumer reported to Trading Standards receiving an unexpected withheld number call from someone offering a free survey which the consumer believed was associated with security and alarms.
Consumers are advised to be very wary about offers of free security surveys, a tactic often employed by high pressure salespeople to sell expensive and unsuitable alarm systems.
Consumers are often offered free alarm systems which then come with expensive monitoring contracts costing thousands of pounds!
For more information visit: http://tinyurl.com/c8lfner
Please feel free to cascade this information to whomever you feel appropriate (including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.).
If you have any information you wish to provide to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, either for our information, or to appear in future email alerts, please email me.
For more information on scams, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams
For more information on scams, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams
Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss
Simon Cripwell
Trading Standards Officer
Warwickshire Trading Standards Service
Communities
Warwickshire County Council
Old Budbrooke Road Warwick CV35 7DP
Tel: 01926 414039
Mob: 07771 975570
Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss
My normal working days are Monday to Thursday
Monday, 11 March 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)