FIRST: A COURIER FRAUD:
An elderly resident received a phone call from a man purporting to be a Met Pol police officer Fraud Department. He explained that there had been fraud taking place in her bank and they were investigating the passing of counterfeit notes. Would she help the police ? He kept her on the phone for hours – so that no-one could call her – and she could not call anyone for advice and help.
He needed her to go to her bank and withdraw £5,300 in cash, so that they could check if there were counterfeit notes in the cash. Once they had checked them for fingerprints, they would put the money back into her account. Once she had withdrawn the cash, they would organise a courier to collect the money.
She did this and the money was collected. Suspicions were growing and the police were called who confirmed this was a scam.
Anyone who has been to one of our Community Safety Roadshows, will have met and heard Jane, the recovering victim of a Courier Fraud, last June. She is still suffering from the consequences and runs over and over endlessly, why did she fall for it, when in her head she was screaming it’s a scam !!! She was also kept on the phone and her mobile for hours and hours, until in the end, she went and collected a similar amount from her bank and just wanted all the stress to be over. She was also worried that once she had collected the cash, was someone going to attack her and take it ?
It was a horrendous incident and has long lasting mental effects. When she talks about it to anyone – all that happens, is she is re-victimised – how could she have fallen for it, surely at some stage, she must have realised – how stupid she was.
It’s now been 8 months, and she is still badly affected. Jane is not elderly, she is absolutely compos mentis, it happened at a bad time for her, she was distracted by a lot of other issues and she just fell for it. It can happen to anyone. We – all of us, must spread the word as far and wide as we can, to prevent anyone else suffering as she has done.
DON’T LET IT BE YOU – NOR ANYONE YOU KNOW.
NEXT: A message from Paul Samuels at ‘Men’s Matters’
Hi Jeff
I do hope all is well with you.
Men's Matters and W.E.A. have organised a ‘Chair Exercise Programme’ for any older man (65+) from the Royal Borough.
It runs every Friday at 12.00 midday to 12.45 p.m. from Friday 18th February to Friday 25th March. It is FREE for residents in the Royal Borough.
As men get older, it becomes even more important for them to remain active if they want to stay healthy and maintain their independence. All they need to do, to enjoy these classes is to contact me at:
samuelsberks@aol.com.
Many thanks
Paul
There are dozens of groups for women in RBWM and women are used to going to them. There is very little specifically for retired men and they find it difficult to join, such groups. This group is fairly unique. The numbers attending are increasing. They have very interesting meetings sharing their experiences and skills. If you are 65 plus, think of making contact with Paul for more details – you may find, you like it !
NEXT: ANOTHER VERY STRANGE SEXTORTION !!! BE ON YOUR GUARD.
The victim, happened to be getting off the toilet, when he answered a video call, believing it was from someone he knew. He immediately realised he did not know the caller and ended the call.
Immediately, he started to get messages asking for money, or the sender would send the video they had recorded, to everyone in his personal address book. They included screenshots, to prove they had a video. The screenshots show very little.
They then sent screenshots of his Facebook contacts, to show they could do what they threatened.
Everything was deleted and blocked and the victim has heard nothing further
There is a moral here – be extremely careful if you answer your phone in a compromising situation. The scammers are always out there, looking for an opportunity !!!
DON’T LET IT BE YOU – NOR ANYONE YOU KNOW
NEXT: NOTTINGHAM KNOCKERS OUT AND ABOUT.
Please remember - anyone going door to door selling anything other than books and food needs a Pedlars Certificate. A small white document 4’’ X 5’’ issued by police forces. To get one, they have to be police checked and have to be ‘of good character’. If they are not or have a criminal record, they cannot get one. To get round this, they print off a large yellow Hawkers Identification. There is no such thing and it is meaningless. If they say – ‘I am just out of prison on a rehabilitation programme’ …….. you know, they are not permitted to go door to door selling anything.
Remember our NHW motto:
‘I am sorry, I do not buy goods or services at the door’, then firmly but politely close and lock the door. Then phone any vulnerable neighbours, not to answer their doors.
Many thanks to all those that phoned them through to us. Also, many thanks to all those that take the time to phone through suspicious people and cars out and about in their area. That information is vital to us, when planning where to allocate our resources.
CRIME
I have attached reference numbers to each crime report. If you live in the vicinity of any of the crimes mentioned and have CCTV or a video doorbell, can you please check the footage. If you have any that might be of interest to the police, can you please make contact with us, quoting reference number given.
Alternatively you can call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or email -
www.crimestoppers-uk.orgMAIDENHEAD CENTRAL:
maidenheadcentralgeographical@thamesvalley.police.uk31/1 Monday 11.30 a.m. / 12 noon Queen Street. Car rear windscreen smashed. Ref. No: 43220047711
1/2 Tuesday High Town Road. A witness saw a man on a bike, pull up beside a car, smash the passenger window, reach in and take something, then ride away as the car alarm sounded. Ref. No: 43220048474
1/2 – 2/2 Tuesday 8.30 p.m. / Wednesday 9 a.m. West Street Car Park. Car driver’s window smashed – nothing stolen Ref. No: 43220048911
1/2 Tuesday 7.20 p.m. / 9 p.m. Grenfell Place. Locked up bike stolen – chain cut and left behind. A blue / green, Carrera Valour bike. Ref. No: 43220048777
RIVERSIDE & BELMONT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.
MAIDENHEAD WEST
maidenheadwestgeographical@thamesvalley.police.ukBISHAM, COOKHAM, HURLEY, THE WALTHAMS, LITTLEWICK GREEN & KNOWL HILL:
1/2 Tuesday 9.15 a.m. High Street, Hurley. Beige Range Rover, index RV ** OWB, stolen from outside a house. Keyless car theft. Ref. No: 43220046935
PINKNEYS GREEN & FURZE PLATT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.
MAIDENHEAD SOUTH
maidenheadsouthgeographical@thamesvalley.police.ukBOYN HILL, COX GREEN & WOODLANDS PARK
NO CRIME TO REPORT.
OLDFIELD, BRAY & HOLYPORT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.
A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY !
WE ARE BRINGING ‘THE COMMUNITY SAFETY ROADSHOW’ TO HOLYPORT ON THE 21ST FEBRUARY. 7 p.m. / 9 p.m. The Memorial Hall
I will be there to talk about Crime Prevention / Scams & Frauds
PCSO Jan Cleaver will talk about her work in the local community
An RBWM Community Warden will talk about how they support local residents
A member of our Community Safety Team Volunteers will talk about how they assist the support the community – and perhaps recruit some more to the team
An event not to miss – our grateful thanks to the Bray / Holyport Parish Council, for making the venue available to us – hopefully a Parish Councillor will also be able to attend to answer any questions you have which relates to them.
Please consider using our online reporting system but please note this reporting tool is not for use where a crime happening right now, the suspect is still at the scene, or anyone seriously injured or in immediate danger.
https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/follow us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TVPWindsorandMaidenheadEyes, ears.....and Brain
Jeff
Jeffrey.pick@thamesvalley.police.ukFROM THE MAIDENHEAD NHW ASSOCIATION:
Maidenhead Neighbourhood Watch Association is growing fast, and with more members joining every day, we need to ask for volunteers to join us on the association to help keep the association going and keep Maidenhead safe!
Here is a shortlist of the positions we have available:
Multi-Scheme Administrator (MSA)
Secretary of the Association
Board members of the Association
Vice-Chairman of the Association
Please visit our website:
www.MaidenheadNHWA.org.uk and from there you will be able to see all the different ways you can get involved to help support your local community. There is no time commitment or dedicated hours, but we do ask if you can attend the association meetings (One 60 Minute meeting every 2 months)
If you have any question about any of the positions available, please feel free to contact us at
contact@MaidenheadNHWA.org.uk I look forward to speaking with you soon.
Kind regards,
James Cooper HNDip, MBCS
Chairman – Maidenhead Neighbourhood Watch Association & Vice-Chair for Thames Valley Neighbourhood Watch Association
