FIRST: ANOTHER ATTEMPTED COURIER FRAUD:
The aggrieved was called from a withheld number, by a man purporting to be Detective Constable Charlie Jacobs – shoulder number 94752 from Hammersmith Police Station's Fraud Dept.
He said that they had arrested a man using the aggrieved’s debit card and making withdrawals from their bank account. He said that £2,000 had already been taken. Would the aggrieved go to their bank and withdraw the same amount - another £2000. He would then send a courier to collect it.
The aggrieved then began to become concerned that this was a scam, but also wanted to check with the bank first, to find out whether any money had been taken.
The bogus police officer then asked for the aggrieved’s passport number, to prove identification, which was refused.
The aggrieved then asked - 'how do I know you're really the police' ? The bogus police officer, said that he thought that this question would come up and had provided a shoulder number as proof. If more verification was required the bogus officer, gave a phone number the aggrieved could call.
The aggrieved put don the receiver, then dialled the number he had been given. The scammer of course, had kept the line open and simply handed the receiver, over to an accomplice. The accomplice confirmed that DC Charlie Jacobs, did in fact work for the police.
The aggrieved was still not convinced, so put the phone down and phoned their bank. The bank confirmed it was a scam and that no funds had been taken at that time.
No further calls have been received and the incident was reported to the police !
The message does appear to be getting through – though the aggrieved did phone the number given to him by the scammer, instead of calling the bank themselves from a number they had.
Fortunately at the end, everything was OK !
NEXT: THE FIRST COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH COMPLETED IN MAIDENHEAD !
Hi Jeff,
This is the first Community SpeedWatch we have completed.
Two police volunteers Roger & Lee, from the new Volunteer Community Safety Team and myself, were in Cookham on the Maidenhead Road, Switchback Road North and then onto Sutton Road.
All were very successful with quite a few who cars recorded speeding, who will be receiving letters over the next few weeks.
Let’s hope that as soon as the Covid regulations are dropped on the 19th July, we can invite residents and Councillors to join us.
PCSO Lorraine Holmes
Community SpeedWatch SPOC
Maidenhead West Neighbourhood Geographic Team
A SCAM AT AN ATM IN OLD WINDSOR – WHICH HAPPENS QUITE FREQUENTLY !
Ben Higgs, the RBWM Community Warden phoned me yesterday.
He had received a call from the manager at a garage in Old Windsor.
An elderly gentleman withdrew £100 from the ATM. As the cash was dispensed, 2 women distracted him and one stole the cash and put it into a sock !
The man did not see this, but thought the machine had simply not paid out the cash, so went into the shop, where an assistant helped put though another withdrawal and he left with the cash.
The assistant thought this was odd and checked the machine. They could see, 2 withdrawals had in fact been made. They then checked the CCTV and could see the whole distraction take place.
The man does not yet know he has been scammed, and we don’t know who he is
The exact same thing, happened to my elderly uncle in London. Scammers watched him at an ATM and again distracted him when the payment was made. He also went onto the bank, to say the machine had not paid him the cash. When the CCTV was checked. The distraction could be seen.
It is swift and very professional. These scammers are – as always – very good at what they do. They target elderly people at ATMs, who are making cash withdrawals. Always in pairs, one distracts the victim, the other reaches across at steals the cash, as it is dispensed.
SO – THE GENERAL ADVICE – IS THE SAME AS ALWAYS.
If possible – DON’T use an ATM, which is in the street – use one inside the bank / foyer instead. Those areas, have a lot of CCTV cameras and scammers, avoid them
Cover the key pad when you enter your PIN, not necessarily from the camera above the keypad – we haven’t had a case of fake ATMs for years – but from nearby prying eyes.
Make sure there is no-one around you – or within several feet, who could read your PIN, or try and distract you.
If while you are making a transaction, someone comes up to you for many reason – IGNORE THEM AND KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE MACHINE. Think immediately – they are scammers and sort it out and answer, after the transaction is complete – pretend you have not heard them !!!
Most of us are conditioned to be polite, so if someone asks us a question, we turn to them and respond.
One of the scams, is to drop a £20 on the ground near the victim and then touch them on the shoulder and ask ,if they dropped it, while getting their card out from their purse / wallet. Just looking round, or down, at the vital moment is enough time, for an accomplice to reach across and take the cash.
As with the above, most victims, don’t know they have been scammed and simply believe the machine did not dispense the cash !
If you can, get cashback at a supermarket. It is more secure for you and benefits the shop, as they have less cash to count, at the end of the day !!!
BE ALERT TO THIS SCAM, PARTICULARLY IF YOU ARE ELDERLY / VULNERABLE – THE SCAMMERS PREFERRED TARGETS.
NEXT: FROM THE BOROUGH RE VACCINATIONS
From Frimley Health Care:
Will you be in Maidenhead on Saturday, are over 18 and need a first, or second vaccine ?
There will be a walk in facility for anyone over 18 at the Desborough Suite, Town Hall, Park Street SL6 1RF, between 8.30 a.m. – 5 p.m., where both AstraZeneca and Pfizer will be available.
Two doses offer maximum protection and the first and second vaccinations need to be the same version and there needs to be at least 8 weeks between vaccinations.
Eat and hydrate, before being vaccinations.
If your first vaccination was Pfizer and you will be in Windsor on Saturday, that will be available between 9.30 a.m. – 5.30 p.m. in the old Lakeland shop premises in Windsor Yards - again ‘walk in’ without an appointment.
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.pnn.police.uk6/7 – 7/7 Monday 0.50 a.m. / Tuesday 1.30 p.m. Bridle Road. Front car index plate stolen. Ref. No: 43210300953
RIVERSIDE & BELMONT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.
MAIDENHEAD WEST
maidenheadwestgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.ukBISHAM, COOKHAM, HURLEY, THE WALTHAMS, LITTLEWICK GREEN & KNOWL HILL:
7/7 Wednesday 1 a.m. Golf Club, Henley Road. Break in. Offenders forced a rear and internal doors. CCTV shows them inside using torches. Silverware and trophies stolen. Ref. No: 43210299687
7/7 Wednesday 10.30 a.m. Farm, Hungerford Lane, Shurlock Row. Two offenders are caught on CCTV walking up to the gates to the property. Locks are removed from gates and a 4X4 pulls up and the two get inside and drive onto the farm. The doors to 3 barns were forced and searched, but nothing appears to have been stolen. Ref. No: 43210299781
7/7 Wednesday 1 a.m. / 5.30 a.m. Straight Mile, Shurlock Row. The chain of a field gate was forced off and offenders have driven the full length of a field. Ref. No: 43210299681
6/7 Tuesday 9.45 p.m. Broadmoor Road, Waltham St. Lawrence. A large box of screws was thrown over the road. Ref. No: 43210299236
PINKNEYS GREEN & FURZE PLATT:
8/7 Thursday 1.40 p.m. / 2.30 p.m. Pub Car Park, Pinkney’s Drive. Bright orange Kawasaki ZX 10R motorbike stolen index DX EKJ. The owner still has the keys, so the large heavy motorbike must have been pushed up a ramp into the rear of a van ?? Ref. No: 43210302119
MAIDENHEAD SOUTH
maidenheadsouthgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.ukBOYN HILL, COX GREEN & WOODLANDS PARK
6/7 Tuesday 1 p.m. / 3 p.m. lillibrooke Crescent. Nails pushed into the side wall of a tyre. This has been an ongoing issue in the Cox Green Area. Can everyone keep an eye on their video doorbell footage to see if they catch anything suspicious happening in the roads around that area. Ref. No: 43210298970
6/7 – 7/7 Tuesday 10 p.m. / Wednesday 7 a.m. Bhamra Gardens. VAN ENTERED BY UNKNOWN MEANS – job laptop and mini petrol pump stolen Ref. No: 43210299642
OLDFIELD, BRAY & HOLYPORT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.
MEMBERS’ COMMENTS:
FIRST: ANOTHER FORM OF THE COURIER SCAM FROM ALAN:
Hi Jeff,
Unfortunately, I have to report another scam, somewhat similar to the Courier Frauds.
Late last week, my daughter called me. She had received a call from her mothers’ partner, to tell her that quite truthfully, his bank account had been hacked and that the hackers had transferred £12,000, to her account.
She looked online at her account and indeed, she was suddenly £12K richer !
The partner then received a phone call - purporting to be from his bank - to say that he had indeed been hacked, but that because his account was compromised - she - should not transfer the money back, but not to his account as it was compromised but to a "safe" account.
They gave him a "reference account number". She then received a call from supposedly ‘the bank’.
They gave her the account details, to which she should transfer the money.
By the time she told me the story, she had already transferred the money.
I was immediately extremely suspicious, but couldn't do anything about the transactions that had already taken place. She felt that everything was above board and wasn’t worried.
She phoned me later in the day in tears, telling me that her mother's partner had called and confirmed that the whole thing was a scam.
The next day, my daughter called her bank, told them the whole story and asked if there was anything that could be done. She still had the details of the account to which the scammed money had been transferred, which was, fortuitously, a bank which is part of the same group as hers. Also fortunately, the scammers had not been quick enough to transfer the money out of that account number into another account, and as it was still sitting there, the bank was able to retrieve the money and return it. They also froze the scammers account.
So, at the end of the day all was well. However, this clever 3-pronged pincer movement, could easily have ended up badly.
Beware!
Alan
Many thanks Alan. It shows us all how complex these scams are and how hard the scammers work and prepare for each scam they carry out. It takes an enormous amount of time to gather together the necessary information to carry out a scam like this – BUT – AND THIS IS THE MESSAGE – THEY ARE DOING IT ALL THE TIME.
THIS ONE FAILED – BUT HOW MANY SUCCEED ?
NEXT: THE SAME OLD LETTERS FROM THE FAR EAST HAVE STARTED AGAIN !
Hi Jeff,
My husband has received a letter - correct first, last name and address - including the Post Code.
The letter comes from a Mr Masayasu Yamashiro, President & General Manager, the Bank of Okinawa Ltd.. It explains that he is looking for the next of kin, for someone who, died in the corona pandemic, who has the same name as his client. He suggests, my husband may be related and has given two email addresses, for us to reply.
This letter is similar to one we received many years’ ago, which we ignored, and we intend to do the same with this one, but thought you might be interested to know they are doing the rounds again.
Ann
Thanks Ann,
STOP – PAUSE – BREATHE –BIN IT
NEXT: THE TV LICENCE SCAM:
Good Evening Jeff.
Just to remind other members of Alert - I received a very authentic email, informing me that I must renew my TV licence.
The email says my TV Licence has expired and I must complete new bank details for payment -–by clicking on the LINK !!!
The source is obviously a scam.
It may be worth circulating to renew awareness.
Kind regards,
Brian
Thanks Brian – when you place your cursor over the LINK, it shows the real address you will be going to – rather than the one displayed – in this case ‘Sinnarshipping.com ! Hardly connected to TV Licenses !!!
AGAIN - STOP – PAUSE – BREATHE –BIN IT
