WHO WE ARE

  CONTACT US

RDC News

Received from NW 15th Nov 2012
Christmas is coming and so are the SCAMS  Nothing new but some old favouites back on the streets:-
Nottingham Knockers - Trying to sell you overpriced goods ( dusters/car cleaning kit etc) on your doorstep
Delivery Companies - Delivering gifts you did not order or winnings from a competion you did not enter
Security Companies - Providing a 'free' security assessment, getting you to sign a contract, then charging thousands to install the system and monitor it
Be on your guard - Do not buy at the door or over the phone anything you did not order in the first place

Received from NW 15th Nov 2012
Beware of those who bear gifts !
There is a new and clever credit card scam. It just happened to someone in St. Albans , and it can pretty well now be happening anywhere else in the country.  It works like this: Wednesday a week ago, they had a phone call from someone who said that he was from some outfit called "Express Couriers" asking if they were going to be home because there was a package for them, and the caller said that the delivery would arrive at their home in roughly an hour.  And sure enough, about an hour later, a Delivery man turned up with a beautiful Basket of flowers and wine. they were very surprised since it did not involve any special occasion or holiday, and they certainly didn't expect anything like it. Intrigued about who would send them such a gift, they inquired as to who the sender was.  The deliveryman's reply was, he was only delivering the gift package, But allegedly a card was being sent separately;  (the card has never arrived!). There was also a consignment note with the gift.
He then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol, there was a £3.00 "delivery charge" as proof that he had actually delivered the package to an adult, And not just left it on the doorstep to just be stolen or taken by anyone. This sounded logical and they offered to pay him cash.
He then said that the company required the payment to be by credit or debit card only so that everything is properly accounted for.
The husband, who, by this time, was standing beside his wife, pulled out of his wallet his credit/debit card, and 'John', the "delivery man", Asked the husband to swipe the card on the small mobile card machine which had a small screen and keypad where he was also asked to enter The card's PIN and security number. A receipt was printed out and given to them.  To their surprise, between Thursday and the following Monday, £4,000 had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM machines, Particularly in the Midlands area!
It appears that somehow the "mobile credit card machine" which the deliveryman carried was able to duplicate and create a "dummy" card(?) with all their card details, After the husband swiped their card and entered the requested PIN and security number.
WARNING: Be wary of accepting any "surprise gift or package", which you  neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves any kind of payment as a Condition of receiving the gift or package. Also, never accept anything if you do not personally know and/or there is no proper identification of who the sender is.
Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card information is when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!

Received from NW 24th May 2012
Passed on from the Police:
DRIVERS are being urged to call the police if men try to flag them down on the motorway after several were stopped in what police believe could be a scam. One man was reported to jump into the M25 near Waltham Abbey in an attempt to stop traffic, before telling drivers he had run out of petrol and offering to sell gold jewellery in return for cash to buy the fuel. Several drivers reported being stopped in this way on the westbound slip road at junction 26 on Sunday (May 20). “We need the public to let us know if they see this so the men can be given suitable words of advice or be arrested for any offences they may have committed. “Their actions appear to be suspicious, and the gold items they are offering could be stolen or fake, so please be wary of anyone offering you such items for cash.” Witnesses should call Essex Police on 101.

Note received from NW 15th March 2012
Many of you may have noticed an increase in the activity of Scrap Dealers in our area. With the high value of metal there are more and more 'dealers' operating. Scrap Dealers need to be registered so if you have any concerns regarding a scrap metal van operating in your area please make a note of the registration plate and let the police know. This would NOT be a 999 call but a 101 call.

Passed to us 8th March 2012 by NW
Card Fraud Telephone Scam
The UK Cards Association is advising customers to be aware of a new variation on an old style scam that involves people being telephoned by fraudsters and duped into handing over their debit or credit card, and revealing their PIN.
How does the scam happen?  A fraudster rings you, claiming to be from your bank, saying their systems have spotted a fraudulent payment on your card or that your card is due to expire and needs replacing.  You may be asked to ring back using the phone number on the back of your card - which further convinces you the call is genuine. However, the criminal keeps the line open at their end so, when you make the call, you are unknowingly connected straight back to the fraudster. Then, by seeming to offer assistance, the fraudster tries to gain your trust. In most cases you are asked to ‘cancel’ your existing card or ‘activate’ or ‘authorise’ a replacement card by keying your PIN into your phone’s handset.
The fraudster then poses as a bank representative to pick up your card from your home, sometimes giving you a replacement card, which is a fake. In some cases a genuine courier company is hired to pick up the card, which the victim has been asked to place into an envelope. Once they have your card and PIN the fraudster uses them to spend your money. A variation of the scam involves the fraudster ringing a prospective victim and claiming to be from the police – again with the aim of going to the victim’s home to collect the card and PIN. What can I do to avoid this scam?
Remember this advice: Your bank or the police will NEVER ring you and tell you that they are coming to your home to pick up your card, so never hand it over to anyone who comes to collect it.  Your bank will NEVER ask you to authorise anything by entering your PIN into the telephone. NEVER share your PIN with anyone – the only times you should use your PIN is at a cash machine or when you use a shop’s chip and PIN machine.  What should I do if I think I may have been the victim of a fraud or scam?  If you think you have been the victim of a fraud or
scam of this nature you should call your bank or card company immediately.

Note: passed to us and added 22nd Feb 2012
I have just seen on facebook from my niece about a BT scam.
Someone calls you and says that you owe some money on your phone bill and if you don't pay immediately you will be cut off even if you are not wih BT.  They said to her try to ring out and she could not but that is because the caller has used a mute button while still on the phone.He gives an 0800 0800.  152 no but says that you need to pay by credit card.  This is a scam and vulnerable people could fall for it
Never give out bank details over the phone unless you are positive who you are speaking to

Passed to us 17th Feb. 2012 from NW:  
The following extract of an e mail forwarded to our office:
I thought that I should just let you know that I received a call from a resident in Hullbridge this afternoon. He said that a man knocked at his door and said that he was a surveyor from Rochford Council and that he was in the area carrying out surveys to see if people were entitled to grants for loft insulation and solar panels. When the homeowner asked for ID the man backed away and made his excuses to leave. He was wearing a hi-visibility tabard and badge saying surveyor, but nothing else.I told the homeowner that the Council were not undertaking any sort of survey and also suggested that he might contact Trading Standards at Chelmsford.
Thanks, Senior Environmental Health Officer, Private Sector Housing/   Rochford District Council

Passed on to us by NW 3rd Feb 2012
We are aware that an email entitled 'Population Census: a message to everyone - act now' is being circulated, allegedly in the name of National Statistician, Jil Matheson. This email demands individuals provide further personal information, supposedly for the Census and threatens fines for non-compliance. This email is a scam and a hoax. It has no connection whatsoever with the National Statistician, the 2011 Census or the Office for National Statistics.  We believe the links in the e-mail could download malware to any computer where the user clicks on the links. This could put your personal data, including financial information, at risk.   Anyone receiving this, or similar emails, should delete them, not open any links and certainly not provide any information.
For more information on how to protect yourself from this type of threat, please see www.getsafeonline.org
If you wish to, please report receipt of any such suspicious emails to http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/home

THE classic artist scam we received via e-mail 27th Jan 2012 - steer clear!!!!
Hello,
How are you doing? I am Martin wright a british merchant in Dubai , I have been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, it has defiled all forms of medical treatment, and right now I have only about a few months to live, according to medical experts. I have not particularly lived my life so well, as I  never really cared for anyone (not even myself) but only my business. Though I am very rich, I was never generous, I was always hostile to people and only focused on my business as that was the only thing I cared for. But now I regret all this as I now know that there is more to life than just wanting to have or make all the money in the world.  Now that God has called me, I have willed and given most of my property and
assets to my immediate and extended family members as well as a few close friends. I want God to be merciful to me and accept my soul. Because my bible said in psalm blessed is the man whom his sin is forgiven So, I have decided to give also to charity organizations, as I want this to be one of the last good deeds I do on earth. So far, I have distributed money to some charity organizations in the U.A.E, Algeria , India and Malaysia .Now that my health has deteriorated so badly, I cannot do this myself anymore. I once asked members of my family to close one of my accounts and distribute the money which I have there to charity organization in Bulgaria and Pakistan ; they refused and kept the money to themselves. Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as they seem not to be contended with what I have left for them.I want you to help me collect my last deposit and dispatched it to charity organizations which I deposited In security/finance house abroad, which no one knows of is the huge cash deposit of (Twenty five Million, Five Hundred Thousand U.S dollars) I have set aside 25% for you, then 5% for any expenses incurred. If you are interested, please send your prompt reply to my email address below which you will have to reply to if you will be kind enough to work for me; Contact email:
May the almighty Allah bless you.  Regards,Martin wright.
                        A highly creative piece of writing that has obviously recently been resurrected.