News

Dear Watch Member,

We are currently investigating a series of recent pickpocket offences in Pinner. The most recent ones have occurred in Café Nero, Lidl, Marks & Spencer and WHSmith, where the victims have had their mobile phone and / or bankcards stolen from coat pockets, handbags or purses.

Although many of the pickpocket victims are elderly females, anyone can be targeted by thieves who often dress smartly to avoid being detected. Some thieves work alone; others with an accomplice.

Wherever you go it’s important you don’t make yourself an easy target by following this advice:

• Look out for people who get too close to you in a queue;
• Never leave your phone, wallet or purse in an open pocket;
• Never leave your handbag / rucksack unzipped and carry your bag in front, preferably diagonally across your body;
• Don’t leave your phone or other valuables unattended or out of sight, such as in a trolley;
• Don’t leave bags hanging on the backs of prams and chairs;
• Always cover the keypad when entering your PIN;
• Don’t become distracted when using an ATM; ensure that any money you withdraw is safely secured;
• Don’t keep your house keys with any document showing your address.

For more personal safety advice please click here.

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 020 8721 2775

Dear Watch Member,

Social engineering is a technique criminals use to get you to trust them, and then convince you to give away your money or confidential information.
3 ways they may do this:
• Phishing, Vishing and Smishing – these are fake emails, phone calls or text messages supposedly from a friend or family member or even a trusted organisation. They’re used to get you to give scammers your personal or financial information.
• Remote access – this is when a criminal tricks you into letting them take control of your device. They do this by getting you to click on a link or download an app which gives them access to everything on it.
• Pressure – this happens when a scammer puts pressure on you to pay for something quickly, for example, a limited time offer. They’re trying to panic you into making a payment without thinking it through.

What to look out for:

• Never assume someone contacting you is genuine – caller ID and email addresses can be spoofed to appear genuine.
• Is an offer or sale too good to be true?
• Never download an app, click on links or open attachments without taking time to think about if it’s genuine.
• An email, call or text message to say your device has a virus or your antivirus software is out of date.
• Be very wary of requests to pay by bank transfer. Always use the secure payment method recommended by reputable online retailers.

For more information about social engineering, please read page 4 of the attached booklet, which is full of information and advice that can help prevent you from becoming a scam victim.

Documents accompanying this message are linked below. Click to download and open a file which use the popular PDF format. If you experience problems downloading or viewing a file please visit this help page.
The_Little_Book_of_Big_Scams_-_Fifth_Edition

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 020 8721 2775

Dear Watch Member,

Scammers can penetrate our everyday lives by using various social media platforms to try to trick people into donating to fake causes.

Following the recent tragic earthquake in Turkey and Syria, scammers from around the world are posting emotive images and language on social media and attempting to channel donations away from real charities and into their own accounts. Some scammers are even claiming to be linked to well known charities to do this. This is not the only cause that has been impacted by scammers, so if you are considering making a donation in response to an online appeal, we recommend that you check first to ensure that your money will be going where it is genuinely needed.

When giving online, there are a number of ways to avoid scams and donate safely:

Ensure a charity is genuine before giving any financial information. The Charity Commission for England and Wales advise you to check the charity name, registration number and official contact details at uk/checkcharity.

Some scammers will impersonate a well-known charity, so you should always type in the charity’s website address yourself, rather than clicking on a link, and look for the registered charity number on the website.

Only donate to online fundraising pages created by a person or organisation you know and trust. If in any doubt, contact the charity directly.
Ignore requests to donate through a money transfer company as this is a popular scam.

After making these checks, if you believe a fundraising appeal is fake, report it to Action Fraud.

For further advice visit https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/charity-donation-fraud.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launches appeals when large-scale disasters hit countries without the capacity to respond. Visit www.dec.org.uk for more details.

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team

Dear Watch Member,

Fraudsters posing as police officers and bank officials are again targeting elderly residents. They ask victims to hand over cash and bank cards or to purchase high value watches and gold bars, all of which are collected by a courier. 

The fraudster phones you and claims to be from the police or bank. They tell you a convincing story. They may say that there is a problem related to your bank account and that you urgently need to withdraw your money from your bank and give it to a courier who will come to your house to collect it. Sometimes, people are asked to give their bank card to a courier; other times they ask you to buy high value items, such as watches or gold.

Please remember the police or your bank would:

• never ask you to withdraw money from your account;
• never ask you to buy high value items;
• never ask you to give your money or goods to a courier or to send money in the post;
• never ask you to give your bank card to a courier or to send it in the post.

If you need to check with your bank, remember that fraudsters can hold the line open, so you should use another phone or call someone you know first to check that the line is clear. Alternatively, visit your local bank branch.

To verify a police officer’s details, call 101 and give the name or shoulder number that the officer gave you.

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team
Email: [email protected]

Dear Watch Member,

We have been alerted to a current scam email purporting to be from Companies House. It instructs you to check the information submitted by your company and says that if you ignore this instruction you may be subject of legal action. The Companies House website says they are aware of similar scam emails. It advises recipients not to disclose personal information or open attachments contained in emails claiming to be from them. If you receive a suspicious email claiming to be from Companies House, please report it to: [email protected].

If you’ve recently submitted a tax return, don’t be caught out by bogus HMRC contacts claiming you’re owed a rebate.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receive many reports of scam emails and text messages at this time of year.  Be aware that fraudsters can falsify the ‘from’ text or email address to make it look like a legitimate HMRC source. Be particularly wary of emails urging urgent action.

If you’re not 100% sure that a message has come from HMRC, don’t respond or click on any links or attachments.

Genuine emails from HMRC will never notify you of a tax rebate or offer you a repayment, nor would they provide a link to a login page or a form asking for information – instead they will ask you to log on to your online account as normal to check for information.

Remember that you should always log into your online account via your browser, never via an emailed link.

Forward suspicious emails to [email protected] or visit www.gov.uk and search “HMRC scams” for more details.

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team
Email: [email protected]