Along with the leaps and bounds of technology in the past few decades, crooks and scammers have moved on too, they are no longer satisfied with obtaining what cash you have in pocket by fooling you with their 'Shell Game' or 'Find the Lady', now they want every penny stored in your bank.
With the trend of making everything 'Online' following the introduction of Computers and Mobile phones, and the easily accessible graphic manipulation software, they can now reproduce anything to make you believe what you see is real.
Nobody is safe, you can no longer trust what you see, whether that is a letter from your bank or an advert for goods or services, no longer can we trust that the logo or letterhead actually belongs to the company we believe it to be from, nor can we trust the email addresses or phone numbers they call you from, even if they do match those we already know.
Check everything! - Not once but several times!
Preferably make direct contact yourself by using well publicised phone numbers, or visit websites that are known to you, better still go into the shop itself.
Below is a collection of articles highlighting common scams, explaining how to recognise them, and importantly how to report them.
Which? provide listings of many of the latest Scam alerts that are doing the rounds.
Vist their webpage to see if what you have received is listed.
Nowhere seems safe anymore, fraudsters are intent ontaking our money using any means they can, hardly a day goes by without a telephone call for PPI or an accident claim, and the email box is full of threatening blackmail style messages.
Find out how to spot them, If something seems to good to be real, then it normally isn't !
Be aware of the latest scams around and NEVER give out your bank details over the phone.
Below we will publish known scams as we are made aware of them, keep checking back!
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Always be aware of what information you and your child stores on your mobile. Never keep personal or banking details on your handsets.
Phone hacking is far too easy,. but It's not just the Hacker's who are able to listen in or access your data, watch the video to know more.
You can register your landline and mobile for free with the Telephone Preference Service, this will reduce the amount of unwanted telephone marketing calls you receive.
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is a free service. It is the official central opt out register on which you can record your preference not to receive unsolicited sales or marketing calls. It is a legal requirement that all organisations (including charities, voluntary organisations and political parties) do not make such calls to numbers registered on the TPS unless they have your consent to do so.
TIP: You can tell almost immediately that it is a sales call as there is a few seconds of silence after answering the call, the message you hear is pre-recorded so there is no point in talking to it, as soon as you hear the voice of the call center operator say 'I am a member of the TPS, I have recorded your number and I am going to report you, take me off your call list'. They normally then disconnect very sharply. The TPS website has a reporting feature.
You can report spam text messages to your mobile phone provider free of charge by forwarding the text message to 7726. You may get an automated response thanking you for the report giving you further instructions if needed.
There are many quiz style posts that do the rounds on Facebook, they may seem fun or pass a few minutes here and there, but they have an underlying purpose, to obtain your information!. Who creates them?, after all they do not show any advertising, and are not linked to any group or individual, they just regularly appear, changing their guise around specific holidays such as Halloween Easter and Christmas.
'They must be safe as my friend has completed it!' - But did they? or was it someone pretending to be them. Did they think the same when they completed the quiz before sending it to you?. THESE QUIZZES ARE FAR FROM SAFE !
Just clicking on them adds your name and email address to junk mail lists that are then sold on to others, thats most probably where most of your junk mail comes from. The information you unwittingly give when completing the quiz is stored, added together with information from other quizzes or games, building up a picture of your idendity that can then be used to hack accounts, use your finance details to order goods.
Take a look at the article below.
DONT DO THESE QUIZZES, AND DO NOT SEND THEM ON TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Our televisions and media are often advertising Ancestry kits that will test our DNA to establish our heritage connections. They charge a lot of money and make outlandish claims, but in reality they are not as accurate as they make out. These sites should be taken as 'For entertainment only', and NOT as an accurate test.
Fraudsters are aware that its the time of year we receive our new council tax demands in the post, and they are using this to cold call on Powys residents offering them help in re-banding so they will pay lower rates, or claiming rebates. They inform you that to do this they need your bank details to take the lower payments. Twitter has reports of some residents being swindled out of £14,000 over the last week. If someone telephones you with this offer hang up straight away, and if they knock at your door tell them you are busy and close it, then telephone the police. Residents wishing to report such calls and get practical advice should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Services helpline on 03454 040506
Similar scam bills are being sent out under the guise of mayny utility companies, such as BT and other electric supply companies.
A similar email regarding Council Tax Refunds are being sent out.
The Council would refund direct to your Bank Account , not to a Card.
They would already have your bank details too.
A similar email regarding Council Tax Refunds are being sent out.
The Council would refund direct to your Bank Account , not to a Card.
They would already have your bank details too.
Credit to: Sovereign Empowerment
There are various parcel scams around claiming to be from Ebay, Amazon, Fedex, UPS, Hermes, DPD or Yodel. Fake cards are placed through your door, or you receive an email or phone call to say they have tried to deliver a parcel and that you need to rearrange delivery, they then ask for a delivery payment which requires you to give them your bank details. Phone the widely published number of the delivery agent and NOT the number shown on the card and check with them to see if it is legitimate.
If you have not ordered anything recently by post then you know it is a scam!
Cyber criminals are sending victims their own passwords in an attempt to trick them into believing they have been filmed on their computer watching porn and demanding payment via Bitcoin. They obtain passwords from old data breaches, so if you get one of these immediately change any login process you have used with this password. DO NOT PAY ANY MONIES !
Further details can be found on the ActionFraud website (click picture)
Action Fraud received over 100 reports in the last week about fake emails purporting to be from TalkTalk. The emails state the recipient's talktalk account is in credit and they owed a refund. The links in the emails take you to malicious websites.
DO NOT click on any of the links or open any attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to messages that ask for your personal or financial details.
There have been recent reports of phone calls allegedly from the tax office telling people that they owe money, and that failure to pay today will result in an issue of a warrant for your arrest and an expensive law suit against you. They threaten to freeze your bank account and push you to immediately go to the bank and withdraw all the money you have ready for them to personally collect within the hour. THE HRMC WILL NEVER MAKE SUCH REQUESTS. Do not withdraw any money or give them any details. If you get a phone call like this, immediately report it to the Police using a seperate phone number, scammers will often hold your line open and then pretend to be the police.
Credit to: ThioJoe
Luckily this man is aware of the scammers plot, and wastes a lot of their time by playing with them, that might not stop them but the delay at leasts stops them ringing others who are more vulnerable.
Credit to: The Basic Plot
Although reduced due to the installation of cameras and anti-tampering technology, do not let your guard down. Cash Points are still being used by scammers fitting devices to them that copy your card details and pin number. Always check the machine thoroughly and if there is more than one machine compare the two to see if they are the same, check is any of it loose or a different colour.
Also be aware of distraction techniques after you leave the kiosk, never use a machine if someone is standing beside or right behind you, step aside and let them go first so they can not look at the pin code you use. Do not withdraw large amounts all in one go in case thieves are waiting to snatch the money or your purse / wallet from your hand.
Where possible use cash points that are inside shops which scammers find much harder to fit their devices, or go into a shop and get 'cash back' after purchasing your goods.
Scammers are also now targeting parking metres, and getting people to put their cards in to the meters to pay for being 'wrongly parked'. The council does not collect fines this way - watch out for signs on the meter that it has been tampered with, different style of text, different shades of colour, or if it looks different to the next machine.
The new contactless credit cards are opening new ways for theives to obtain your money. They have created new technology devices that will read your card details from within your wallet or purse and even when it is in your pocket or bag.
They use a device that looks like a tablet, and now there are reports of them using an app on a regular smartphone. Watch the three videos to find out more.
Tickets to concerts are frequently offered on social media such as Facebook, stating that they are unable to attend due to a variety of reasons such as Illness or a death in the family. Some may be real, but others are hoping you will feel sorry for them and believe them and pay for fake tickets or unusable tickets that have for some reason been cancelled. This happens a lot when concert dates have been changed. Always check with the company hosting the show before paying out for a ticket.
The coming UK Adele concerts are generating many fake tickets, some being offered for as much as £25,000. Always buy from a trusted source and never from social media.
Similar to the concert ticket scam above, there are many scams offering you free cruises, free holidays or weekends away. These scams are often on social media such as facebook from people who have evidently become too ill to travel, or by fake companies offering them as a prize or as a winning entry to a competition. These holidays, trips or cars do not exist, what they are really after is your bank details and they will ask for them to pay for a refundable security deposit, for a administration fee or for additional expenses not previously mentioned.
AGAIN... IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THEN 99.9% OF THE TIME ITS NOT !
Action Fraud Alert is advising everyone to be aware of fake police officers or parking attendants who are currently targetting car park users, especially the elderly. They will approach you and tell you that you have parked illegally or been spotted speeding or state some other incorrect breach of rules. They will inform you that you have been reported for this and that a huge fine is to be issued, but give you the option of reducing this with an immediate payment of the fine. They will either ask for cash or direct you to a parking meter where you can use your credit card to make instant payment.
DO NOT PAY CASH OR USE YOUR CREDIT CARD IN THE MACHINE.
These parking meters will have been tampered with to gain control of your credit card.
Find the nearest display board and ring the number shown to check, do not ring any number they give you as this is most probably manned by an accompliss.
If the person pertains to being a Police Officer, both in and out of uniform, then ask to examine their Warrant Card, then ask for his full name, rank, badge number and station and ring 101 to check that they are legitimate.
Scammers have been calling to say they are your local Police and have apprehended a man using your credit card details. They ask you to confirm your card details and pin number so they can go ahead with prosecution and refund your money.
THE POLICE WILL NEVER ASK YOU FOR CARD DETAILS. Immediately hang up, and if you do have their number report the call to your local Police using 101 or their online website.
This is the new thing these days with people out of work and needing cash. Beware, it's happening in our area.
THIS APPLIES TO BOTH WOMEN AND MEN
BEWARE OF ANY PAPER ON THE BACK WINDOW OF YOUR VEHICLE.
You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. You start the engine and shift into reverse. When you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space, you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window. So, you shift into Park, unlock your doors, and jump out of your car to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, that is when the carjackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. They practically mow you down as they speed off in your car.
And guess what, ladies? I bet your purse is still in the car. So now the carjacker has your car, your home address, your money, and your keys. Your home and your whole identity are now compromised!, a purse contains all kinds of personal information and identification documents, and you certainly do NOT want it to fall into the wrong hands
If you see a piece of paper stuck to your back window, just drive away. Remove the paper later.
Credit to: TODAY
'Do I have to give my name?',
'I dont want them to know it was me!',
'They nmight find out I said something!'
'I dont want to go to court'.
Find out how Crimestoppers works and put your mind at rest!
Only information is taken and recorded, not your name, not your phone number, not even what sex you are.
