Neighbourhood Watch updates
- 16 August 2010 10:3665667Last week three cars were stolen in Dover: GU57 XWG, Honda Civic SCV100, F713 HKJ Red Yamaha RXS100 AND X656 White Renault Kangoo.
Then, a HandyVan has been stolen. The Police are concerned in case someone uses it pretend to be a HandyVan fitter in order to gain access to homes of vulnerable people. (The HandyVan supports people on local incomes or with limited savings by fitting free safety and security devices and doing small repair jobs). It is a white van, Vauxhall Vivaro EYO6 YVM. - 16 August 2010 12:0765672Thanks for that Diana...very interesting stuff there, people have to be very aware not only about having their vehicles stolen but also by potentials scammers with the handyvan situation
Speaking of spammers and scammers...Had this through from Her Majesty's Custom and Excise guys this morning. The latest re tax scams, might as well put it on this thread.
*****
HMRC issues phone call scam warning to Kent taxpayers
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is warning taxpayers in Kent to be vigilant following reports that thieves are making phone calls pretending to be the taxman.
The fraudsters inform taxpayers they are due a tax rebate, and ask for their bank card details over the phone. They then attempt to take money from the account using the details provided. Victims risk having their bank accounts emptied and their personal details sold on to other organised criminal gangs.
The warning comes amid a recent surge in the number of tax scam "phishing" emails reported to HMRC. In the last three months, HMRC has shut down over 180 websites that were responsible for sending out the fake tax rebate emails.
Chris Hopson, Director of Customer Contact at HMRC said:
"We only ever contact customers who are due a tax refund in writing by post. We never use telephone calls, emails or external companies in these circumstances. We strongly urge anyone receiving such a phone call not to give any information to the caller, but report it to the police straightaway.
"If customers receive an email claiming to be from HMRC, we recommend they send it to us for investigation before deleting it permanently."
HMRC thoroughly investigates phishing attacks and works with other law enforcement agencies in the UK and overseas. In the last 18 months, scam networks have been shut down in a number of countries, including Austria, Mexico, the UK, South Korea, the USA, Thailand and Japan.
HMRC strongly advises customers to:
Check the advice published at www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/index.htm to see if the email you have received is listed
Forward suspicious emails to HMRC at phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and then delete it from your computer/mail account
Do not click on websites, links contained in suspicious emails or open attachments
Follow advice from www.getsafeonline.co.uk
If you have reason to believe that you have been the victim of an email scam, report the matter to your bank/card issuer as soon as possible. If in doubt please check with HMRC at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/fraud-attempts.htm
Notes for editors
1. The scam email often begins with a sentence such as 'we have reviewed your tax return and our calculations of your last year's accounts show a tax refund of XXXX is due.'
2. The current increase in the number of scam emails reported to HMRC is partly due to people following HMRC advice and forwarding them to the department's online reporting facility.
3. In September 2009, a record 83,000 phishing attempts were reported to HMRC. The following month, an unprecedented 10,000 reports of phishing scams were made to HMRC on one day alone.email: dover7@msn.com - 16 August 2010 12:5365674the handy van theft is a worrying one, sounds like it was targeted.
let' hope they get caught before they trick their way into an elderly persons house. - 16 August 2010 16:3265691The one about the Tax man happen to me,it was send by email I phoned up the tax office right away and also send them the email I had,they have just got back to me by letter thank me for doing that and that they are now looking into it.
- 16 August 2010 16:3265692The one about the Tax man happen to me,it was send by email I phoned up the tax office right away and also send them the email I had,they have just got back to me by letter thank me for doing that and that they are now looking into it.
- 19 August 2010 09:3866165A further two vehicles have been stolen, a blue Yamaha motorcycle, GX54 GCU, and then a white Nissan Sunny H339 HLT. Also a green Mitsubishi (previously also stolen) L200 X668 HKL was seen in connection with a silver Isuzu pick-up S57 FHU
and a blue and silver Mitsubishi M131 NUK was seen near a car theft in the Canterbury area.
Also there have been various break-ins to sheds and garages in the Temple Ewell area, so be aware. - 20 August 2010 06:2366281What a good idea to post Neighbourhood Watch incidents on here.
People are from all around Dover and it will make people aware of what is happening and to be more vigilant.
Roger - 20 August 2010 11:4866303You may have seen on TV that there are bogus clothes collectors going round in the name of Breakthrough Mid Kent, a charity supporting breast cancer sufferers.
These collections are not sponsored by them. If you receive a flier, could you email Phil Wilson at charitybags@breakthroughmidkent.org.uk telling him the road and town where the flier was dropped. If you have any questions for him can you includ "question" in the title box, please. - 20 August 2010 12:2766311Agreed, a good idea to post on here and you never know, the Police and PCSO's may be watching and get some ideas about who is doing this stuff and where they may be caught.
- 21 August 2010 15:1866511Not sure that this will affect anyone on here, but there has been an increase in theft of hay recently. Police would like to hear from anyone who can provide a description of offenders, or vehicles associated. You can phone Crimestoppers for free on 0800 555 111.
It seems there is a lot going on up at Aycliffe, where drug dealing and drug paraphenalia have been located. Apparently there are fields behind St David's Avenue (I do not know the area) where paraphenalia has been found, so alert your kids to be careful what they pick up. - 21 August 2010 16:3366523I do know a forumite of Aycliffe who hasn`t been on here for a while, due to a serious bout of hay fever. ..... of Dock Green.
Tell them that I came, and no one answered. - 22 August 2010 06:5366613Probably Vic - for his horses.
Roger