A VERY GOOD 48 HOURS
NO BURGLARIES
AND
ONE CAR ENTERED BY UNKNOWN MEANS AND LOOSE CHANGE STOLEN
FIRST: A DISTRACTION INCIDENT IN WINDSOR, BUT IT COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE – PLEASE BE ON YOUR GUARD:
14/5 Friday 1.15 p.m. Supermarket Car Park, Dedworth Road. The aggrieved finished her shopping and has subsequently been told by security, that 2 men were close behind her when she paid, to watch her enter her bank card PIN number. She left and packed her shopping in her car and placed her handbag, on the passenger seat.
One of the men then came up and tapped on her window, saying she had left some items in the trolley and she needed to check. She got out of the car and followed him to a trolley. There were items in it, but they were not hers and she suggested he wheel it back to the store, which he did. While this was happening, the second man reached into her car and stole her bank cards form the handbag.
She drove away and only found the cards missing, when she was shopping later. The cards were immediately cancelled and at that time had not been used. Description of the man who distracted her:
Light olive skin, around 5’4’’, brown eyes, average build, 30 – 40 years old, wearing workman’s clothing. Ref. No: 43210207708 This is an old scam, but we haven’t seen it in some time. Often the distraction is that something is hanging down under the car, or someone has bumped into the rear causing damage. This is a little more sophisticated as it takes the victim away from the car, allowing the second man to enter the car and steal bank cards. PLEASE BE ON YOUR GUARD.
ALSO IN WINDSOR:
13/5 Thursday 3.50 p.m. St. Andrews Crescent. The owner has found a small pile of pebbles, piled up on their doorstep. They are concerned this may mark their property for something. Ref. No: 43210206171 Has anyone else found anything like this ??
NEXT: The price of copper has increased by 35% in 2021 and is currently twice as valuable, as it was this time last year. There is also an increased demand for copper, as the construction industry recovers. We are therefore likely to see an increase in copper thefts.
Just so that you are aware, when having any re-furbishment done.
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.orgMAIDENHEAD CENTRAL:
maidenheadcentralgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.ukSR.windsor&
maidenhead@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk13/5 Wednesday 5.30 p.m. / 6.30 p.m. St Cloud Way. Locked up bike stolen. A mountain bike – WITH FRAME NUMBER. Ref. No: 43210206862
RIVERSIDE & BELMONT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.
MAIDENHEAD WEST
maidenheadwestgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.ukSR.windsor&
maidenhead@thamesvalley.pnn.police.ukBISHAM, COOKHAM, HURLEY, THE WALTHAMS, LITTLEWICK GREEN & KNOWL HILL:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.
PINKNEYS GREEN & FURZE PLATT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.
MAIDENHEAD SOUTH
maidenheadsouthgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.ukSR.windsor&
maidenhead@thamesvalley.pnn.police.ukBOYN HILL, COX GREEN & WOODLANDS PARK:
11/5 – 12/5 Tuesday 10 p.m. / Wednesday 1 p.m. Boyn Hill Road. CAR ENTERED BY UNKNOWN MEANS – loose change stolen from the centre console. Ref. No: 43210204908 Was someone walking along the road, trying car door handles ? If you have a video doorbell / CCTV can you check it please ?
OLDFIELD, BRAY & HOLYPORT:
13/5 Thursday 1.45 p.m. Farm, Ascot Road. A witness saw 3 men inside his workshop. He challenged them and they immediately made off. They drove off in a Luton Transit van – with a silver cab and a white back. Ref. No: 43210205976
MEMBERS’ COMMENTS:
FIRST FROM JOSEPHINE:
Dear Jeff
A note to alert readers to a Google Play Voucher scam.
The e-mail sender, will be someone you know. They will have been hacked and their computer will send everyone in their address list, an email asking ‘Can you please do me a favour’ ? The e-mail goes on to say that the sender is having difficulty in buying online a birthday gift for a friend, who has asked for ‘3 x £100 Google Play vouchers’.
There is no way to tell that the email has not come from a genuine source, as the email address and name signing off the email, will be known to the recipient and the email - is addressed to the correct name, as it appears in the hacked computer address book.
If the recipient falls for the scam, the vouchers will go to the scammer.
Kind Regards
Josephine
Thanks Josephine – This follows the same old hacking scam, we saw so often:
‘I am crying as I write this from a hotel in Turkey / China / Thailand’ or wherever. It used to go on, ‘We have been robbed, lost our passports, all our money and cannot pay our hotel bill, or to pay for flights home …………send money !
We all knew when we got one of these that the person named in the email – had been hacked. This is just a new version – now that there are travel bans and such an email, would stand out as an obvious scam !!!
NEXT A VODAPHONE SCAM FROM YVONNE:
Hi Jeff,
I was contacted today by Vodafone, telling me my bank had not authorised payments due to them.
They wanted my Bank details !!!
Seeing I am ‘Pay as you go’ and I don’t have a contract with Vodafone that would hardly be the case. I immediately deleted it.
Maybe worth passing on?
Regards,
Yvonne
Thanks Yvonne, It is a nice feeling, when what they are saying is so obviously a scam, you are certain and have no worries and feel empowered and angry, when you tell them to ‘go away’, you know it’s a scam and put the phone down – then block the number !
NEXT: FROM CHRIS – HE HAD APPARENTLY WON £385,00 ON THE POSTCODE LOTTERY !!
Hi Jeff,
I received a letter today – copy attached - complete with coloured logo and lots of official stamps and dates – notifying me that I had won a ‘people’s postcode lottery’. I had been selected from 3 million people world wide. I had won £385,000 ! All I had to do …….. was phone a number and send them my bank details, so they could transfer the funds to me !
As I have never entered such a lottery – I was surprised, I had won !!!!
Chris.
EXACTLY !!! YOU HAVE TO BE IN IT - TO WIN IT !
NEXT: A CENSUS SCAM TEXT FROM CHRIS:
Hi Jeff,
I received this text today – obviously a scam ! It says that there was missing information on my Census form. Failure to supply the correct information will incur a £1,000 penalty – Click on the link to supply the information !
Deleted and the number blocked
Chris
EXACTLY !!!
NEXT: FROM ANOTHER CHRIS !
Hi Jeff,
This is just a note, to let you know how easy it can be to get hacked.
I received a text message from BT, saying my details in their records had been changed – was this done by me ? I hadn't changed them.
I went in, generated a new secure password, activated the two phase authentication, and spoke to staff at BT, who looked into it and it appeared everything was fine.
The following day, I received an email from NS&I (Premium Bonds), saying my details had been changed – was that me ? Of course I hadn't, so I tried to log in and it wouldn't let me.
I knew that the password was correct, because I use Google to automatically put it in and it worked fine last week but didn't this time.
I contacted NS & I again, to see what had happened. My password had been changed, the security questions had been updated and a new mobile phone number - which wasn't mine - had been inserted.
To change your password, NS & I send an access code to your mobile phone number. You enter that and you are allowed access and change your password. I didn't receive that code, because the message had been intercepted by the fraudsters. They went in – using that code and they were able to change all my details.
I noticed this, before they had a chance to access and change my bank details. My account has now been blocked and other security processes put in place, so that they can't do it again.
I reported it to Action Fraud and went back to BT and told them what had happened and they have raised a case.
As it happened, I also had a message from HSBC saying there had been suspicious activity on my account, but as I don't bank with them, I knew that was a scam.
Everyone needs to just keep on their toes and hopefully the scammers won't get away with it
All the best
Chris
Thanks Chris.
