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Neighbourhood Watch

Police Advice to Members of the Public

COLD CALLERS

 

DOORSTEP - Cold callers at the doorstep can range from legitimate companies such as the Red Cross or Avon, or Utility companies such as British Gas, Southern Water etc. to possible unscrupulous callers who will offer to buy your old gold/jewellery, ask you to buy tea cloths/household goods etc, as always, advice would be: NEVER give out personal information including, full name, address, telephone numbers, bank account details, passwords or anything else that is personal to you over the doorstep. Whilst some cold callers may be genuine, it is not worth taking the risk, if you need towels, cloths, want to sell jewellery etc then go to the nearest reputable outlet. If you feel intimidated by a doorstep caller then call the Police on 101. Many areas have No Cold Calling Signs up, this will not stop cold callers entirely but gives residents more empowerment to say NO and GOODBYE. Always remember to check identity cards if a caller comes to the door and don't be afraid to take the card, close the door and ring a recognised number for the company to double check they are who they say they are. I regularly check with the gentleman who comes to read my gas meter how many calls he has made on that day - he usually says approximately 2/300 and then I ask how many of those people have asked for his id card, sometimes he says '2 or 3', last time I asked the answer was 'noone'. Reputable, legitimate company representatives will have id cards, they will want you to check who they are, some company's will also offer passwords for when their representatives are calling.

 

TELEPHONE - If someone is calling you by phone to offer you money or a supposed 'good deal' say no thank you, nobody gets something for nothing and in 9 out of 10 calls they are after your money. No matter how plausible/realistic/friendly/genuine the callers sound they may not be, so don't take the risk. If the caller says they are from a legitimate company, tell them you will call the company yourself and discuss matters further, then call the company - using a recognised telephone number for the company obtained from a telephone directory - do not use any number supplied by the caller. If they are calling to say you have defaulted on a payment, or won some money/gift, want to repair your computer, chances are that it is not a genuine call. Obviously it is your choice who you speak to on your phone, and if you choose to continue the call then please remember NEVER give out personal information including, full name, address, telephone numbers, bank account details, passwords or anything else that is personal to you to the caller. Check with your telephone service provider about the telephone preference service which can reduce cold calling, make sure all the members of your household are aware that a caller may not always be genuine and never to give out any personal information about the family.

 

COMPUTER/EMAIL - If you have received an email saying you have won some money and you need to send a small amount of money to claim  the gift/prize - delete it. If you receive an email saying your friend is in dire need of money having gone on holiday and been robbed - call your friend to double check first, tell them their email may have been hacked and then - delete it. If you receive an email saying a long lost relative has left some money and it is in a bank abroad all you have to do is send a small amount of money to them and they will release the inheritance - delete it. If you receive an email supposedly from your or another bank - delete it. Unscrupulous people make a lot of money out of scamming people, if you are taken in by their words, or in a rush and don't check thoroughly, you could end up losing a lot of money. Make sure you warn other members of your family that there are scam emails around, older and younger members of a household may be taken in by clever wording or a realistic looking logo. Recently I had a bank send me an email to my police email account telling me I had a problem with my bank account and it had been temporarily suspended whilst they looked into the matter for me, all they needed was my account number and password! The logo on the scam email was the official one used by the real bank, the link on the scam email led me to the real banks home website, however, there were a few minor alterations as it had been copied. I do not use this particular bank so I knew instantly it was a scam, however, had it supposedly been from my bank I would have checked with them directly by phone or in a branch. Banks do not send that type of email, if they want to contact you they will write to you. Younger members of the household who have perhaps just started banking may well have believed this email, please warn them.

 

UKASH Vouchers

 

Telephone calls have been made to residents giving various different scenarios as to why they are going to receive some money, some say it is a tax refund, some say it is an insurance payout - but ALL of these callers have asked the resident to obtain a Ucash voucher and they will call back so that you can give them the voucher number and they can then release the money to you. Some say they will post the cheques, some say they will drop the money round. DO NOT DO THIS it is a scam.

 

Checking out the legitimacy of Ukash Vouchers it would appear that there is a company who supplies vouchers for you to use to purchase goods via the internet or shops if you do not want to use your credit or debit cards. The link to the company is: http://www.ukash.com/uk/en/home.aspx and if you go to the 'What is Ukash' section and scroll down there are security tips. I am not recommending this company as it is not my place to do so, I did try to ring the company and was met with an ansaphone message saying they would put me through to someone, unfortunately the line went dead - so I am putting the link for you to check for yourselves.

 

SECURITY SYSTEMS

 

Some people have been contacted by supposed security companies offering their security devices and giving special offer details, worrying residents about the actual safety of their area, giving false information about police response time and in turn relieving people out of a lot of money. I am attaching a document which gives advice on how to chose a security company:

 

Should you wish to check the incidents that have occurred in your area sign up to Crime Reports on: https://www.crimereports.co.uk/ you can ask for an alert email to be sent to you directly if an incident occurs, this can also be set up for relatives home areas if they live in Hampshire.

 

GOODS SOLD FROM CARS OR VANS 

 

Some may be  legitimate selling some ex stock from a reputable company and trying to sell it on.  HOWEVER, this is not always the case and sometimes the goods being sold out of the back of a vehicle are stolen. Advice would be to say a polite no thank you and try to gain the registration number of the vehicle in question then call the police so that they can check.

 

For information on the latest scams and hoaxes please see: http://www.snopes.com/ or http://www.hoax-slayer.com/ both of these websites offer a service whereby you can sign up and receive an email of the latest scam/hoax.

 

If you want further advice or need to speak to someone about an incident then please speak to your local Safer Neighbourhood Team or check the Hampshire Constabulary website on www.hampshire.police.uk


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