At around 17.20 hrs on the 10th June, unknown offenders entered a property in Fillongley by smashing a window and carried out an untidy search. Two males with balaclavas were then seen to enter a white BMW parked at the property and make off stealing the vehicle.…
If you have any information that could help the police with their enquiries please call 101 and refer to inc 303 of 10/6/18.
Some time between 21.30 hrs on 7/6/18 and 03.00 hrs on 8/6/18 unknown offender(s) entered a vehicle parked in The Shortwoods, Dordon. A bank card was taken from inside.
If you saw anyone or have any information that could help the police with their enquiries please call 101 and refer to inc 156 of 8/6/18.
Unknown offender(s) attempted to enter a property in Grove Road, Atherstone, sometime during the day on 7th June before 15.30 hrs. A number of plant pots were damaged, a drainpipe and some roof tiles as the offender(s) attempted to enter the property by a window on the top floor. The window was locked and no entry was made to the property.
If you saw anyone acting suspiciously or have any information that could help the police with their enquiries please call 101 and refe to inc 400 of 7/6/18.
Motorists are being warned after a number of cars have been stolen during test drives in Staffordshire.
A man pretending to be an interested car buyer has been arranging to meet sellers for a test drive, and has then driven off in the vehicles.
Seven offences have taken place since the 18 April in Lichfield, South Staffordshire and Cannock. The cars have all been advertised for sale on vehicle listing website AutoTrader.
The offender is described as a white man, approximately 6ft tall, of stocky build with stubble. He arrives at the location on foot, and often wears dark clothing with a cap or hat.
Detective Inspector John Quilty, Staffordshire Police CID, said: “We are reminding the public to be alert when selling their cars. Do not hand your keys over to a potential buyer, and be sure to ask for ID or confirmation of insurance before allowing a test drive to take place.
“If you do have an unusual meeting with a prospective buyer, or have any information in relation to these thefts, please report it to us on 101 quoting incident number 719 of 4 June.”
Alternatively, to remain anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
At around 9.15/9.30 am this morning a black silver cross pram, with a silver frame and black basket underneath was stolen from a driveway in Curdworth.
The empty pram was next to the car at the property. A white van was seen to draw alongside and two women got out and took the pram.
If you have any information that could help the police with their enquiries please call 101 and refer to inc 87 of 7/6/18.
The North Warwickshire South Safer Neighbourhood Team would like you to have your say in what our local Priorities should be.
This area covers Coleshill and surrounding villages. See map on link.
The one with the highest amount of votes will be adopted by the Team as their next Priority for the next three months.
The targetted patrols will be carried out in conjunction with the normal day to day work of The Team.
The voting will stay op…en for one month until 6th July when they will be counted and will be taken into your local Team’s Priorities.
What would you like as your local Team’s Priorities?
• Vehicle Crime
• Anti-Social Behaviour including Off-Road Bikes
• Rural Crime
• Burglaries
Click here to vote: https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/arti…/47895/Have-Your-Say
The North Warwickshire West Safer Neighbourhood Team would like you to have your say in what our local Priorities should be.
This area covers Kingsbury, Lea Martson and surrounding villages. See map on link.
The one with the highest amount of votes will be adopted by the Team as their next Priority for the next three months.
The targetted patrols will be carried out in conjunction with the normal day to day work of The Team.
The voting will stay open for one month until 6th July when they will be counted and will be taken into your local Team’s Priorities.
What would you like as your local Team’s Priorities?
• Vehicle Crime
• Anti-Social Behaviour including Off-Road Bikes
• Rural Crime
• Burglaries
Click here to vote: https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/arti…/47896/Have-Your-Say
At around 07.45 hrs on 6th June, a white transit van with two males, described as Eastern Europeans, stopped at a property on Hames Lane, Newton Regis and attempted to take large lorry batteries that were next to a van.…
If you saw anything or have any information that could help the police with their enquiries please call 101 and refer to inc 63 of 6/6/18.
If you have information that you believe may be connection to this incident, please contact the Police on 101, quoting the incident number given.
Please remain vigilant around your area and report suspicious persons, vehicles or activity to the Police on 101. Thank you.
Information can also be given anonymously to the Independent Charity, Crimestoppers, by calling 0800 555 111
At 11.38 hrs today (7/6/18) two males were seen at a property in Fourfields Way, Arley believed to be attempting to use a reader device box to access a car on a driveway. The keys were not at the property so access was not gained to the vehicle and the offenders left.
Please be vigilant, report anyone acting suspiciously near your property or vehicle and take action to protect your keys. If you have a vehicle that has a remote key fob consider buying a signal blocking pouch to keep it in. Pouches are available from a number of outlets and North Warwickshire Neighbourhood Watch – www.nwnhw.co.uk.
Pouches Cost £3 each
As awareness of scams increases, fraudsters are finding more sophisticated methods of stealing our money warn Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards at the beginning of Scams Awareness Month 2018.
Whilst fraudsters are still using amateurish mass marketed scams such as poorly put together ‘Lotto Winner’ and ‘I have money to transfer to you’ letters or emails, some are turning to more elaborate cons to target specific individuals and companies.
Fraudsters are using ‘social engineering’ to manipulate people into handing over confidential information or money. Scammers need to appear legitimate and trusted so gather as much information on their victims as they can from the Internet and social media or from data that has been stolen following hacks or data breaches. They then create a compelling story, sometimes prompted by real life events such as bank problems or things that are happening in the individual’s life, such as a house move. The fraudster will finally claim to be there to help!
No one is immune to scams but there are four groups that are more at risk:
•Young people (18-24) are usually more technologically savvy but are making up a growing proportion of victims of both online scams and identity fraud.
•Those in their 40’s to 60’s account for one third of all fraud victims and are most likely to be the victims of pension fraud, dating scams and banking and property related scams.
•The over 70’s tend to be the victims of phone and mail fraud, often involving investments. This group lose more money to scams than any other, around £4,500 per victim.
•Finally, those who are socially isolated are also at risk. These people can often find themselves on lists used by fraudsters to target individuals. However, 9 in 10 people on these scammers lists are unaware that they are being targeted and socially isolated individuals are not always able to connect to either support or information, leaving them more at risk.
TOP TEN SCAMS 2018
1) Port-out and SIM Swap Fraud: Port-out fraud involves fraudsters convincing the victim’s mobile phone network provider to swap their number on to a SIM card in the fraudster’s control by making a PAC code request. SIM swap involves the fraudster impersonating the victim and requesting a new SIM card for their account. In both cases the fraudster wants control over the victim’s mobile telephone number which they can use to request banking password resets or access to two factor authentication services.
What to do: If you receive an unexpected text from your service provider containing a PAC number or your SIM stops working, contact your service provider immediately – you may have been targeted!
2) Copycat Websites: Most official documents, including passports, driving licenses, ESTAs, EHIC health cards and even fishing licenses can be applied for or renewed on-line. It’s important that when you apply or renew a document or licence on-line that you use the official website, both to ensure that your personal data is safe and secure and that you are not charged more for the document or licence than you should be. Copycat websites try to look like official websites but charge a premium to handle the application or renewal, often with no tangible benefit to the customer. Copycat websites pay advertising fees so that their website is positioned at the top of search engines.
What to do: If you are applying for any official document or licence, begin your search on the UK Government’s own website GOV.UK. If a website is marked ‘Ad’ or ‘Advertisement’, it won’t be the official website.
3) Subscription or Free Trial Scams: Some unscrupulous businesses trick unsuspecting consumers in to signing up for expensive subscriptions, often for face creams or slimming pills, by offering a ‘free trial’. Consumers provide their debit or credit card details to pay for postage and packing, not realising they have actually signed up to a continuous payment authority, allowing the trader to help themselves to the consumer’s account.
What to do: Read all the terms and conditions in any ‘free-trial’ offer. If you sign up in error, contact your bank immediately. These scams are often advertised on social media.
4) Vishing Scams: Fraudsters phone you and impersonate your bank or a service provider (telephone, broadband, electricity or gas) in order to get you to reveal personal or financial information or transfer money (for example to ‘protect’ it from being stolen). They may already know a lot about you and sound very convincing.
What to do: Never reveal any information to an unexpected caller or agree to transfer any money, whatever their story. If you believe the phone call is genuine, phone the business back on a publically listed telephone number.
5) Computer ‘Fix’ Scams: These are unexpected phone calls from someone falsely claiming to be your broadband service provider. They claim your computer is faulty before offering to ‘fix’ it for a fee. They may also try to access your PC remotely to infect it with viruses.
What do to: These phone calls are always bogus. Put the phone down.
6) Investment Scams: Often initiated by an unexpected phone call, these scams involve getting people to invest in wine, shares, land, rare earth metals and art. The investments are usually worthless and customer’s money is not protected. In some cases fraudsters give investors the impression they are making money by handing some back as a ‘return’. They do this to encourage the victim to invest ever higher amounts.
What do to: Never agree to invest with people who cold-call. Always seek genuine professional advice before investing.
7) Smishing: These are text messages used to lure people to visit scam websites, call premium rate numbers or download malicious content.
What to do: Always delete unexpected text messages and where possible block the number.
8) Job Scams: These scams involve taking money for expensive training courses that don’t exist or paying up front to secure non-existent jobs. Some job seekers have lost hundreds of pounds in call charges after long phone interviews for jobs that don’t exist. People looking for employment, especially online, should also be aware of fraudsters who masquerade as recruitment agents to attempt to gain personal and financial information from job seekers that can then be used for ID theft and other crimes.
What to do: Only use genuine recruitment agencies and research companies offering posts thoroughly.
9) Loan Scams: Looking for a loan online? Bogus credit brokers take large fees from individuals desperate to secure a loan. However, the loan never materialises!
What to do: Never pay up front to secure a loan.
10) Demands for Payment: Fraudsters often masquerade as HMRC or other Government departments, or utility companies and cold-call victims to demand payments for unpaid taxes or bills. Victims are convinced to pay these bogus demands, often by using iTunes gift cards or even collecting the money in cash!
What to do: Never provide personal or financial information to cold callers. These calls are almost always bogus, but if you think a call is genuine, phone the trader back on a publically listed telephone number.
Make a consumer complaint
The Citizens Advice Consumer Service provides free, confidential and impartial advice on consumer issues. Call the Citizens Advice Consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06 (English language).
Keep ahead of the latest scams targeted at Warwickshire residents by signing up to Wawickshire Trading Standards email alert system: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams
