PLEASE NOTE THAT INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE MAY BE REPEATED SEVERAL TIMES.
WE ARE GIVEN INFORMATION FROM MANY SOURCES AND JUST DISPLAY THE INFORMATION PROVIDED.
Barry Linton 42903890 Essex Police Volunteer, Fraud and Scams Protection team. He is involved with the Essex Police working as an official volunteer within the Fraud and Scam Protection Team, particularly those scams that may target older people. He is a fully recognised speaker on Cybercrime protection by Essex Police.
With Essex Police support, he maintains a Cyber Crime Alert web page on the Thorpe Bay u3a website. Click this link to view the advice offered Cyber Crime Alert Please do have a look.
If you or someone you know is vulnerable and has been a victim of fraud, please call Essex Police on 101.
Report fraud or attempted fraud by contacting Action Fraud or call 0300 123 2040.
Rip Off Britain
Rip Off Britain is a BBC One series which exposes Britain's rip-offs and helps consumers. It is presented by former news journalists Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and newsreader Julia Somerville. The factual programme has a website with lots of advice in the form of video clips and a number of fact sheets you can download and print for your use. One recent one which caused a lot of interest is about text Scams. You can view and download here. Scam Leaflet It's in colour, but a black and white version is available to save your printer ink.
ANOTHER SCAM reported by one of our u3a members
"My husband was called last Thursday by a person called David who advised that he was calling from Domestic and General, with whom I have all my appliances insured and for which I pay monthly Direct Debits for their relating cover.
David advised my husband of the exact amounts that I pay each month for each of the appliances but also knew that I had cancelled my tumble dryer cover and queried cover for my dishwasher. He advised my husband that I could cover the dishwasher and tumble dryer for £14.83 per month if my husband signed up with him.
However, because I deal with all such matters and not my husband, he was advised that I would call them back. My husband was provided with a telephone number: 0800 597 8600.
Today I have got all my Domestic and General policies out and called the above number only to be told that number is no longer valid. I looked on my policies for an alternative telephone number for Domestic and General and called them on a number commencing with 0333.
I advised the representative from D & G of the background for my call. She advised that it was a scam and that many of their clients had reported receiving such calls from the scammers who even knew D & G clients’ direct debit and bank details and their policy details with D & G. They call the clients in the hope the clients will sign up there and then with a new policy and provide bank details. D&G said they are aware of the scam and their people are looking into it.
I have checked a brilliant website where it will tell you if the number that you have just been called by is a scam. You can view the website by clicking the coloured link is: who-called.co.uk
I think this website could be very useful information for our members because sure enough the 0800 597 8600 number was on this site and identified as a scam."
Please be careful with cold callers.
Coronavirus scams
Coronavirus is still around us and some scammers are exploiting the current situation to make money. As you might expect, scammers loose no time in exploiting the situation. Apart from following the medical advice on Coronavirus, please also be careful on any unsolicited contact with others. Keep your distance. Advice from Action Fraud tells you what to watch out for. More info Pandemic Scams
As has been said in many of our communications, please call a committee member if you need extra assistance or at all worried.
Rogue Traders
With winter approaching with potential high winds and heavy rain, be wary of rogue traders cold calling and offering to replace fencing, missing roof tiles etc. Never accept a doorstep offer to complete work.
Please be aware that rogue traders can and do still appear on sites like ‘Trust a Trader’ or ‘Checkatrade’.
Use traders who you trust or have used before, alternatively Trading Standards have a Buy With Confidence scheme – please use this website in order to find traders that have been vetted and approved by Trading Standards. Click the coloured text to select.
Watch this video from Essex Trading Standards: Cold Caller Video Scroll down the page to view the video Rogue Traders. Other useful information is available by clicking the links.
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Let's hope you don't need this, BUT if the financial firm you've used has gone out of business and can't pay your claim, we can step in to pay compensation. For more information, please see the: Financial Services Compensation Scheme
If you have any concerns about any communications you may have received from any organisation, contact the FSCS Enquiries team via their website contact page: Financial Services Compensation
Amazon (Prime) Scams
Unsuspecting members of the public are targeted with automated calls which tell them a fraudster has used their personal details to sign up for an Amazon Prime subscription. The victim is then instructed to press 1 to cancel the transaction. When they do this, they are directly connected to the real scammer who poses as an Amazon customer service representative.
The criminal tells the victim the Amazon Prime subscription was purchased fraudulently and that they need remote access to the victim’s computer in order to fix a security flaw that will prevent it from happening again. The victim is instructed to download an application called Team Viewer and asked to log onto their online banking account. The software download grants the fraudster remote access to the victim’s computer and allows them to see the victim’s personal and financial details.
Another scam is to tell you a large amount of money has been charged to your bank card. No card details given. The options are given to authorise the amount or talk to an advisor. Simply hang up and do not press buttons.
Other variants of the crime involve victims being told they are due a refund for an unauthorised transaction on their Amazon account or telling victims their subscription will be ‘renewed’ for £39.99. The call will then say that you should ‘press 1’ to speak with an ‘account manager’. Do not press 1, simply hang up immediately.
Amazon will never contact you in this way, and the call being completely unsolicited should also set off alarm bells.
- Unsolicited requests to remote access your computer should always raise a red flag, as once in to your PC they can gain access to all your personal data.
- If you’ve received an unexpected phone call, or other communication, stop and take a minute to think about whether an organisation would get in touch with you out of the blue in this way.
- Instead, contact them directly using a known trusted email address or trusted phone number.
- Never use a telephone number supplied by the caller or an email address.
- Never divulge personal details/data over the phone.
Essex Police Crime reports
Essex Police encourage anybody who has witnessed, or know of, or been a victim of a crime, to think about the incident and submit a crime report. You may be able to provide Essex Police with additional information regarding the incident. It can be done via the Essex Police website by clicking here. Report a crime
You may reside, work, walk, travel or visit family or friends in or near the areas where the incident occurred.
THINK
Were you in the area on that day, around that time?
Did you see any suspicious activity?
Did you note a suspicious person or vehicle?
IF you noted any suspicious activity in relation to the crime, and it is still active, then please call Essex Police on 101
(If you have information in relation to a suspicious vehicle, please make note of the Make, Model, Colour and index number if possible).
Please do not feel that you will be wasting police time. The information you provide may prove useful in an investigation.
Thank you
Unsolicited Calls
PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL WITH UNSOLICITED PHONE CALLS AND EMAILS.
DON'T GIVE ANY MORE INFORMATION THAN THEY ALREADY HAVE.
BEST TO JUST HANG UP FROM THE START OF THE CALL IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS.
See also ESSEX POLICE NEWS