Crime Update

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.

I have added a new email address below. The first email address is directly to your local Neighbourhood Team. The second is to our investigation team. Please use it to send any intelligence / video doorbell / CCTV footage you may have, which is relevant to any of the crimes lists below - quoting the reference number.

Alternatively you can call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or email - www.crimestoppers-uk.org

MAIDENHEAD CENTRAL:
maidenheadcentralgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
SR.windsor&maidenhead@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
18/2 Thursday 11.40 a.m. Albert Street. Attempted Burglary. An alarm sounded and 2 youths were seen jumping over a wall and making off. Ref. No: 43210068804

RIVERSIDE & BELMONT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.

MAIDENHEAD WEST
maidenheadwestgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
SR.windsor&maidenhead@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
BISHAM, COOKHAM, HURLEY, THE WALTHAMS, LITTLEWICK GREEN & KNOWL HILL:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.

PINKNEYS GREEN & FURZE PLATT:
19/2 Friday 1 a.m. / 8 a.m. Blenheim Road. The owner hard a group of youths outside. Later they fund a window had been smashed. Ref. No: 43210070332
19/2 Friday 5.50 a.m. Sunderland Road. Van stolen from outside a house. A white Transit van index FG ** XGD. Ref. No: 43210069958

MAIDENHEAD SOUTH
maidenheadsouthgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
SR.windsor&maidenhead@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
BOYN HILL, COX GREEN & WOODLANDS PARK:
17/2 – 18/2 Wednesday 10 p.m. / Thursday 9 a.m. Lillibrook Crescent. Catalytic Converter stolen from under a Peugeot 106. Ref. No: 43210069006

OLDFIELD, BRAY & HOLYPORT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.

MEMBERS’ COMMENTS:

First: A message from Ex PCSO Lou Phelps-Jeffrey who is doing very well in her new role, after leaving the TVP Geographic Neighbourhood Team !

Hi Jeff,

We have been circulating this YouTube link to all our residents. It is a video produced by Trading Standards – ‘Friends Against Scams’. It outlines how not to fall victim to scams:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go-p7wsFVvU&feature=youtu.be

Lou

Many thanks Lou

NEXT a warning from Karen:

Hi Jeff,

I pride myself in being very astute with scammers and fraudulent emails etc. and I have seemingly been caught!

I am at present looking for work and saw a job advertised on Facebook, which I applied for. The company got back to me quite quickly and said they would be happy to consider my application, but they did need a DBS check, which should be done before they could go into any more detail.

They told me that the check costs £2 and gave me a link to the site that does it. I went there, filled in my details including National Insurance number and then made the payment for the £2.

Later, I checked my bank account to make sure it had gone through, only to find that more than £2 had been taken out of my account. The name of the people taking the money, was not the same as the website which I thought was strange.

I thought I should call them, thinking a mistake had been made, but there was no address, or number on the site - just an email address. I have now written three emails, with no response. The company with the “job“, is now not responding.

I now suspect that the DBS check, was just a way of obtaining my details and now I have had to cancel my card, which is going to be a massive headache for me.

This is a very clever scam, especially for people looking for work in such an uncertain climate.

I am very on the ball with scams etc. yet I fell for this one, as I actually approached them first, re the job.

My bank have raised a fraud investigation and hopefully will refund the money taken. I am still however concerned that they have my personal details.

Karen.

We have a further update from Karen !

Hi Jeff - again

The company has managed to take another payment out of my account, despite my having cancelled my card!!!

I spoke to Visa and they said it was because it was set up as ‘a subscription’, rather than just as a ‘payment’. Payments cease if the card is stopped – Subscriptions – don’t !!

I have, now that I know - put a stop to that subscription as well. These people were advertising a job that didn’t exist and by asking for a £2 DBS check to be done as part of the application, take money that’s not authorised.

Please bring this to the attention of people as so many are out of work and desperate to earn money.

Karen

Thanks Karen – we can all be on our guard !

NEXT: a message received by Mark:

Hi Jeff,

I received an email – not addressed to me personally, by name. It let me know that Outlook Mail was closing down and I needed to click on the LINK to obtain the new, updated version !!!

I just binned it !

Mark

Exactly the right thing to do.

NEXT: Catalytic Converters

Hi Jeffrey,

Thanks for the email update. Re: the catalytic converters, recycling the platinum is a specialist activity so if it happens in the UK I guess the stolen items end up at a small number of places, and all those deliveries require to take only traceable deliveries from licensed dealers. Isn't it easier to start at that end rather than protectively mark every car's cat in the county?

Just an enquiring mind who wants to know!
Andy

We do have breakers yards in RBWM and we regularly check their yards and their records. As Andy says – they have to keep detailed records of all metal received and payments made – If anyone has been to a breakers yard, they will know how difficult it would be, to check the entire site.

We are not recommending marking everyone’s Cat. Converter at this time. To begin with we are recommending – Honda Jazz’ and Toyota Prius’ – the main targets, but we have had a few Lexus’ targeted. Other makes and models – so far – are not targeted. A major online retailer – among many - sell stickers, which only cost a few pounds to place in car windows, saying that the cat converter, is marked and has a tracker ! That should be deterrent enough Huh

NEXT Another Scam call

Good morning Jeff,

My wife took a call this morning, saying our router is downloading data when we are on Google, or emails.

The worrying thing, was that our call display shows it was from a 01753 number, which is a new development. In the past, they have been using different numbers, but never a local one.

Regards,
Barry

Thanks Barry,

Scammers now have software, which shows a local number on your call display, for wherever the scam call is delivered - computer software is now so sophisticated, it can easily do this.

Everyone should just replace the receiver, the minute you feel it is a scam call.

NEXT: A N.I. number scam

Hi Jeff,

I have just had call on mobile, saying that there has been illegal activity on my NI number in N. Wales. Unless I respond immediately by clicking on ‘option 1’ - I will have a warrant issued for my arrest !

Dennis

Thanks Dennis – obviously a scam so terminate the call immediately.

AND ANOTHER:

Hi Jeff, thanks for all the great work you do.

Just received a call from someone who is supposedly the “The National Crime Agency’’. They’ asked me to “Press 1 immediately, to speak to an officer, prior to them suspending my National Insurance number, which apparently, had been recently involved in a number of fraudulent transactions”

It was urgent that I did so immediately, otherwise I’d lose access to everything that required my NI number.

I hung up.

Just thought I’d share with you another variation on a theme.

#StaySafe,

Jim

Thanks Jim

AND ANOTHER !

Hi Jeff,
My wife has received two calls on her mobile, supposedly from the National Crime Agency to say that her NI number has been compromised. She put the phone down at this stage. Thought you might be interested.

Barry

So this means there must be hundreds of these calls. If everyone did exactly the same – perhaps the scammers would give up – but all the while they caste their rod and catch easy fish – that won’t happen. People need to smarten up – AND JUST REPLACE THE RECEIVER.

NEXT:

Dear Jeffrey,

Sorry to bother you, although I wanted to report a website, as I'm not sure if it’s fraudulent.

My wife has received a letter to renew her driving licence and used her mobile phone, which took her to a strange site

The website looked legitimate, but asked for £69 to renew.

I went to the gov.uk website and renewed it for £14.

Unfortunately, my wife did gave a lot of personal data, including passport number, driving licence number, national insurance number, maiden name, address etc., on the first site, so I thought I should let you know.

Graham

Thanks Graham - It may not have been fraudulent – just a company, offering a service and charging you for that – even though it is simple to do it yourself.

If you want to go to America, every 2 years, you have to renew your ESTA Visa. If you put ‘ESTA renewal’ into Google, it comes up with dozens of agencies that offer to do this for you, as a chargeable service – unless you know to go to the USA Embassy, where it is very simple to do yourself. It is the same for Passport renewal – companies offer to do this for you – for a charge, but you can do this easily via the Post Office.

NEXT: THE OLD HMRC SCAM:

Hi Jeff,

I thought I‘d add to the messages to circulate to everyone that this morning, I received a call to my mobile, supposedly from HMRC. They threatened me that I was about to be arrested, for outstanding tax and to “press 1” to talk to an agent.

Being aware of this scam through your messages, I ignored the call and blocked the number. Also reported it to HMRC.

Thanks for all the useful information you send us.

Regards

Rosemary

Many thanks – excellent work Rosemary – that is how it is done – block the number, then follow up, by reporting the call and the number it came from, with the company / agency involved, to follow up. We always have to remember – for every one we prevent – a hundred will get through. It is up to us, to spread the word and protect all our friends, neighbours, relatives and work colleagues. If the scams weren’t economically effective – the scammers wouldn’t do them !!!

NEXT FROM CHRIS – A DELIVERY SCAM FOR YOU TO BE AWARE OF !!!

Hi Jeff,

I received a message, purporting to come from ‘Royal Mail’. It said my package could not be delivered, till I had paid £2.95.

In fact, I did have an order outstanding, but I had paid for delivery, when placing the order.

I did not ‘click’ as requested, but went to the Post Office in Maidenhead, where they confirmed that this was a scam.

The package - arrived today.
Chris.

Well done Chris, for doing exactly the right thing. As we are in lock-down, most of us are ordering online and having items delivered, so their hit rate for this scam is quite high. Lots of people would have clicked and paid – the parcel would have been delivered anyway and they would not know they had been scammed !!!

NEXT: A SCAM EMAIL FROM BT INTERNET:

Hi Jeff,

I just received an email – headed ‘suspicious attempt made to log into your email’, which looks like a scam to me. It comes from BT internet, to let me know that my computer and email address had been hacked at 5.56 a.m., by a server in Lagos, Nigeria.

I should click on the LINK to immediately and change my password !!!!!!

Needless to say – I did not do so !

Regards,

David

NEXT: The DVLA Scam

Hi Jeff,

I feel this is a scam but not certain. What do you think?
Thanks

Steve

It is the standard scam email – your payment did not actually go through due to a defective transfer. In order to dive on the road legally, Steve must immediately click on the link and update his current bank details !!
We all know about this one – We are fortunate they send these out by the thousand - as the minute we see dozens of them, we know it is a scam !!!

BREATHE – PAUSE - BIN IT – DON’T LET IT BE YOU !

NEXT A VARIATION ON A THEME OF THE NIGERIAN / HONG KONG EMAILS – from Peter, received by a member of his NHW scheme

Hi Jeff,

What do you think about this one !!!

It is an email addressed personally from Deutsche Bank UK. Apparently the manager has 34 million Euros in an ‘Abandoned Account’. There is no-one claiming it and he is willing to share it – if ……….. I send him details of my bank account for the transfer of the money !!!!

I did not respond !!!

Peter

Surely no-one would fall for this old chestnut !!!! The scammers are obviously running out of new ideas and hoping we had forgotten all their old ones !!!

NEXT AN UNUSUAL ONE FROM MICROSOFT OFFICE – APPARENTLY.

Hi Jeff,

Another one that may catch a few people. It apparently comes from Microsoft. The email account has been suspended due to an upgrade. If you don’t click on the LINK and install an upgrade – all messages will be deleted !!!

Mike

Thanks Mike – slightly unusual approach. We have not seen that one before !!!