We’re warning the public to be vigilant of unsolicited emails promoting cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) investment opportunities. We’ve received over 750 reports this week about Bitcoin-related phishing emails that use fake celebrity endorsements to try and lure victims into investment scams. The links in the emails lead to fraudulent websites that are designed to steal your money, as well as personal and financial information.

How you can protect yourself:

Investment opportunities: Don’t be rushed into making an investment. Remember, legitimate organisations will never pressure you into making a transaction on the spot.

Seek advice first: Speak with a trusted friend or family members, and seek independent professional advice before making significant financial decisions.

FCA register: Use the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) register to check if the company is regulated by the FCA. If you deal with a firm (or individual) that isn’t regulated, you may not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if things go wrong and you lose your money.

For more information about how to invest safely, please visit: https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart

Report suspicious emails: If you have received an email which you’re not quite sure about, you can report it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service by forwarding the email to – report@phishing.gov.uk

To see examples of the Bitcoin-related phishing emails that have been reported to us, follow Action Fraud on Twitter or Facebook.

(Please forward this message to any friends, family members, or colleagues that may find this information useful)

Message Sent By
Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

Due to coronavirus, more people will be doing their festive shopping online this year.

This means more opportunities for hackers to carry out cyber attacks. They often do this by targeting people and businesses using:

• email and website scams
• malware – software that can damage your device or let a hacker in
• If hackers get into your device or accounts, they could access your money, your personal information, or information about your business.

You can improve your cyber security by taking six actions:

1 – Use a strong and separate password for your email

If a hacker gets into your email, they could:

• reset your other account passwords
• access information you have saved about yourself or your business
• Your email password should be strong and different to all your other passwords. This will make it harder to crack or guess.

2 – Create strong passwords using 3 random words

When you use different passwords for your important accounts, it can be hard to remember them all.

A good way to create strong, memorable passwords is by using 3 random words.

Do not use words that can be guessed (like your pet’s name). You can include numbers and symbols if you need to. For example, “RedPantsTree4!”

3 – Save your passwords in your browser

Saving your password in your browser means letting your web browser (such as Chrome, Safari or Edge) remember your password for you.

This can help:

• make sure you do not lose or forget your passwords
• protect you against some cyber crime, such as fake websites

It is safer than using weak passwords, or using the same password in more than one place.

4 – Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication (2FA) helps to stop hackers from getting into your accounts, even if they have your password.

5 – Update your devices

Out-of-date software, apps, and operating systems contain weaknesses. This makes them easier to hack.

Companies fix the weaknesses by releasing updates. When you update your devices and software, this helps to keep hackers out.

6 – Back up your data

Backing up means creating a copy of your information and saving it to another device or to cloud storage (online).

Backing up regularly means you will always have a recent version of your information saved. This will help you recover quicker if your data is lost or stolen.

For more information, and step-by-step instructions, please visit cyberaware.gov.uk

Message Sent By
Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

Dated 01/10/20

Dear All

It has been brought to our attention that one property in the past week has been subject to a nuisance and intrusive drone flight; there was no reason for this flight to occur, so it has left us a little puzzled. The police have been informed and the local constabulary have been dutifully notified, as we thought it best to be proactive especially after the incident earlier this year involving a farm vehicle.

Please can we as a community be a little extra vigilant and observant of any vehicles which are acting suspiciously or going ons which seem out of the norm.  Please can you inform Simon Good or Diana Sturla and we can pass on your information. Visit our community website page for contact details.
https://ewph.uk/community/neighbourhood-watch/

Thank you.

Neighbourhood Watch Message from the Police

We would like to make you aware that we have received reports of the following scam taking place recently.

Residents have received automated phone calls stating it is from HMRC about non payment/prosecution or similar, an instruction is then given to press a number – please do not follow instructions – this is a scam.

If you have any concerns please phone 101 or email 101@dc.police.uk

If you have fallen victim to a scam, please report this to Action Fraud: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Please pass this information on and consider displaying in public areas, such as notice boards etc.

Thank you.

Message Sent By

Linzi Berryman (Police, DC Alert Officer, Devon & Cornwall)

We would like to make the public aware of a recent fake penalty notice scam which is sent by email, the email looks genuine and official and states that a penalty charge is due, the email normally contains a link to pay online, please do not click on links.

To check a fine is genuine please use a reliable source of information to make contact to check.

Please be wary of this type of scam with emails that contain links, links can take you to a phishing website that is used to steal financial information.

If you have any concerns please phone 101 or email 101@dc.police.uk

Suspicious emails can also be forwarded to the National Security Centre’s “Suspicious Email Reporting Service” (SERS) report@phishing.gov.uk and if you have fallen victim to a phishing scam, please report this to: Action Fraud: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Message Sent By
Linzi Berryman (Police, DC Alert Officer, Devon & Cornwall)

A resident has made us aware of an Amazon Prime scam.

This scam has been reported in the press. An example can be found on the link below.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/amazon-prime-membership-cancellation-scam-18143212

Action Fraud warn about Amazon Prime Scam
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/alert/scammers-target-people-with-amazon-prime-scam

Warnings are also on Amazon’s own website.

Amazon state: ‘If you receive a suspicious phone call, e-mail or text message claiming to be from Amazon, asking for payment, personal information, or offering a refund you do not expect, please do not share any personal information, and disconnect any phone call immediately. Amazon will never ask you for remote access to your device e.g. by asking you to install an app. You can report suspicious spam in the UK to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk, or in Ireland, to your local Garda station. Amazon will never ask for your personal information or ask you to make a payment outside of our website (e.g. via bank transfer, emailing credit card details, etc.).’

Posted 20/08/20

Neighbourhood Watch Circulated Information

We have been made aware that there may be rogue traders operating in Barnstaple, North Devon, and surrounding areas, offering driveway and tarmacking services. We advise that you do not agree to work offered by unsolicited doorstep callers, the risks are high.

• If you want work doing in your home or garden, take time to get three quotes from reputable businesses you trust and make your decision on who to use in your own time.
• If you are concerned someone is at risk, always call the police.
• If you are concerned rogue traders are operating in your area, always report it.
• If someone knocks on your door and you are not sure, don’t open the door.
• If a company claims to be working with a local council, contact the local council yourself to check this is true.
• If you see cold callers in the area, have concerns, or have any information please phone 101 or email 101@dc.police.uk

Please phone 999 if immediate/or a crime is taking place.
Please pass this information on to neighbours.
Thank you.
Message Sent By
Linzi Berryman (Police, DC Alert Officer, Devon & Cornwall)

posted 17/08/20

Fraudsters contacted the victim by telephone from a withheld number, purporting to be from the Serious Fraud Squad.  To substantiate this claim, the caller was able to confirm easily obtainable basic details about the victim such as their full name and address.  They told the victim that a suspect was in custody after being found in a well know retail outlet, using a bank card with the victim’s name on. There were many calls back and forth all day long.  Eventually the victim was passed to a ‘Police Sergeant’ who advised the victim that they needed her to withdraw cash for evidence purposes. The fraudster stayed on the line to the victim while they attended their banks and frightened the victim into not trusting any of the staff at the bank.

Almost £5000 was withdrawn and the victim was told to handle the money wearing gloves to prevent evidential loss. Once the victim has returned home, for more than 40 minutes the fraudsters directed the victim to relay all of the serial numbers on the notes to them. The victim was asked to bring the money to London and when she explained that she couldn’t, the caller told her a plain clothes officer from the local station would be attending to collect instead. A code word was given by the caller for the victim to relay to the courier. After collection a follow up call was made to reassure the victim that the money would be back in their account by the next day. The public are reminded that these fraudsters are highly professional in their approach and incredibly convincing.

The scale of courier fraud in the UK should not be underestimated, as nationally:

• £10.5 million reported loss in just two years
• Over 2,000 reports to Action Fraud in two years
• Two thirds of victims were women over 75
• On average victims lost over £8,000 each

The best way to prevent these scams is to make everyone aware.
Devon and Cornwall Police is advising residents that an officer, or your bank, will never:

• Phone and ask you for your PIN or full banking password;
• Ask you to withdraw money to hand over to them for safe-keeping;
• Ask you to transfer money out of your account;
• Send someone to your home to collect cash, PINs, cards or cheque books

Report fraud here: www.actionfraud.police.uk

Don’t assume an email or phone call is authentic just because someone knows your basic details (such as your name and address or even your mother’s maiden name), it doesn’t mean they are genuine;

Be mindful of who you trust – criminals may try and trick you into their confidence by telling you that you’ve been a victim of fraud.

Stay in control  – if something feels wrong, then it is usually right to question it. Have the confidence to refuse unusual requests for personal or financial information.

If you are concerned that a family member, friend or neighbour may be at risk of this particular type of fraud, To stop the calls you may like to consider the purchase of a ‘Call Blocker’ (there are two types in the main) which is fitted in line with your telephone socket and land line telephone.  These devices can block all calls and only allow pre-programmed numbers through or the other has a button which allows you to block any call after you have determined that you don’t wish to receive any more calls from that caller.  Just ‘google’ the words ‘call blocker’ for more information and make sure you consider purchasing a product that is Secured by Design (SBD) approved.

Message Sent By

Kim Foster (Police, Crime Prevention Officer, Barnstaple)

(posted 30/07/20)