Neighbourhood watch

Follifoot Neighbourhood Watch Feb – Mar 21

Police have received a number of reports of thefts from insecure vehicles in the Pannal, Stray and Rossett areas of Harrogate. Do ensure you always lock your vehicle.
On Friday night a number of insecure vehicles were entered in the Duchy Road area of Harrogate and property was stolen.

Fraudsters are constantly coming up with new ways of trying to defraud people in relation to all manner of products and services, including loans, dating, holidays, business opportunities, clairvoyants, pharmaceuticals, lottery prizes, fake COVID vaccines, even recovery of money lost to fraud and a whole lot more. Here are some of the different types of email frauds that are currently quite common and what to look out for to indicate that an email may not be genuine.
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COMMON TYPES OF EMAIL SCAMS
• 419 Emails: You are offered a share in a large sum of money in return for helping to transfer it out of the country. Once you have given the criminals your bank account details, they empty your accounts.
• Phishing: An email that purports to be from companies such as banks designed to trick you into revealing your personal information and passwords. REMEMBER: your bank will NEVER contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, full password or to move money to another account.
• Pharming: Pharming is a term used when you are directed from a link in an email to a website that spoofs a legitimate website in order to access your personal details.
• Impersonation of UK official websites: For example HMRC, with an email message claiming you are due a refund and requesting your bank account details or directing you to a website link.
• Impersonation of UK officials: Criminals impersonate a UK official to obtain personal information and steal money, often claiming that you are due a refund or must make an urgent payment. Examples of this scam include TV License, the HMRC Tax Rebate and the Council Tax Scam.
• Investment scams and pension scams: Emailed offers of worthless, overpriced or non-existent shares, or a time-limited opportunity to convert some or all of your pension pot into cash.

HOW TO SPOT A SCAM EMAIL
• The sender’s email address looks suspicious. Roll your mouse pointer over the sender’s name to check it. If it doesn’t match the website address of the organisation it says it’s from it could be a sign of a scam.
• The email doesn’t use your name – it says something like ‘Dear customer’ instead. • There’s a sense of urgency, asking you to act immediately.
• There’s a prominent website link that may look at first glance like the proper address but has one letter missing or is spelt wrong.
• There’s a request for personal information.
• Poor grammar and spelling mistakes.
• The entire text of the email is contained within an image rather than the usual text format, and the image contains an embedded hyperlink to a bogus site. Again, roll your mouse pointer over the link to reveal its true destination. But don’t click it!

January 2021

Follifoot Neighbourhood Watch Dec 20 – Jan 21

Our local Police Officer has not reported recently but had promised to do so if anything relevant arises.

However please stay aware re the separate NOTICE on Covid-19 Scams
• Criminals are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to try and get their hands on your money and personal information. To date, Action Fraud has received reports from over 3000 victims of Coronavirus-related scams.
• North Yorkshire Police is warning local residents to be vigilant for an email scam in which the sender claims to be the local Reverend and asks the recipient to purchase high value Amazon gift cards on their behalf.
• Church wardens, treasurers and volunteers have been targeted, with some emails claiming to be from the Archbishop of York. The initial email follows a standard format and reads

• As of 7 January 2021, Action Fraud had received 57 reports from members of the public who have been sent text messages claiming to be from the NHS, offering them the opportunity to sign up for coronavirus vaccinations. The texts ask the recipient to click on a link which takes them to an online form where they are prompted to input personal and financial details. In some cases the online form has looked very similar to the real NHS website.

• DVLA’s five top tips to spot if a text or email is phony
1. Never share driving licence images and vehicle documents online

2. Never share bank details or personal data online

3. Avoid websites offering to connect to DVLA’s contact centre

4. Only use GOV.UK when looking for DVLA contact details

5. Immediately report it to the police via Action Fraud if you think you have been the victim of a scam