Friday 10 February 2017

Email: "...in your area"

This is a message sent via Action Fraud Alert and has been sent on behalf of Thames Valley Police.

If you receive an e-mail entitled ‘paedophile alert in your area’ or ‘sex offender map of your area’ from Neighbourhood Watch, do not click on the link as it is fraudulent.

If you receive the e-mail please report it to Action Fraud.

Click for the Thames Valley Police website

Monday 6 February 2017

Thames Valley Police rural crime campaign starts today

This is a message sent via Thames Valley Alert and has been sent on behalf of Thames Valley Police.

Between Monday 6 and Tuesday 28 February, Thames Valley Police is working with our partners on a campaign that targets rural crime affecting businesses and farms in our region. We need your support.

Events are taking place all across the Thames Valley aiming to help our rural businesses to prevent themselves, their properties and in many cases their livelihoods, from becoming victims of crime.

Free tack marking, discounted property marking and a roaming police station distributing advice are just a few of the events taking place. These will all be advertised by your local officers, so make sure to keep an eye on your Thames Valley or Country Watch alerts, your local @TVP Twitter account, and for posters and leaflets in your area. If you can't make it along to any of the events, join us for a web chat at 6.30pm on Thursday 23 February on this link: http://thamesvp.coverpage.coveritlive.com/

There is a digital campaign, too. Search #TVPRural on Twitter to see what our country-based officers are up to, to watch our campaign videos, and to share some interesting facts and statistics about rural crime with your own followers. We’ll be sending advice and information to our Country Watch and Thames Valley Alert recipients too.

We want to take the opportunity to understand your perceptions of rural crime, so we’re running a survey all this month. Tell us what you think of our communications and help us to improve our service to you. We’ll be sharing the link through Alerts and on our social media networks soon.

Finally, we’re publishing our first ever Country Watch Spring Edition, packed full of information, advice, and interesting items for our rural residents and businesses. Read our first ever Country Watch Edition on this link: http://releasd.com/0904

In summary, you can support our campaign by:
  1. Participating in our 'Perceptions of Rural Crime' survey
  2. Joining our web chat at 6.30pm on Thursday 23 February
  3. Liking and sharing our #TVPRural social media content
  4. Coming along to any events taking place near you
  5. Sharing our Country Watch Spring Edition with your friends, family and colleagues
We hope that you enjoy our campaign and that you find it interesting and helpful.

Click for the Thames Valley Police website

Thursday 26 January 2017

Message from the Assistant Chief Constable

This is a message sent via Thames Valley Alert and has been sent on behalf of Thames Valley Police.

Earlier this week, the latest Thames Valley Police Chief’s Review was published in which Chief Constable Francis Habgood updated on the work the Force is doing to keep pace with the changing policing landscape.

Over the last year we have reviewed the way we respond to and investigate incidents and crime in our communities to see if our structure and processes effectively manage the demand from and the needs of the public.

In response to this we will, during the summer, be making changes to the way we are structured working within three key areas: investigation, response and neighbourhood. Our aim is to create a more effective and efficient police service which will ensure that we can provide the best service to you when you need us.

We have mapped out where our demand for service is, ensuring that resources are targeted at the areas of greatest need, at times of greatest need and to the most vulnerable in our communities. This will mean that in some areas and at certain times we will have more or less police officers available.

I would like to reassure you now that this is not about withdrawing our resources from our communities it is about providing a better service.

We are committed to delivering an improved service: one which ensures we have the right number of officers on duty to respond quickly to a call for service if needed; one which supports our communities with dedicated officers working with you to solve local problems and one which sadly, if you are a victim of crime, ensures the right people are there to get you justice.

Over the coming months, we will talk more to you about the changes ahead.
Rest assured our officers, staff and volunteers will continue to work tirelessly in partnership to make our communities safer.

Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Ross


Watch the Chief’s Review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSdvwwDipYY


Click for the Thames Valley Police website

Tuesday 24 January 2017

Payment diversion alert

This is a message sent via Action Fraud Alert and has been sent on behalf of Action Fraud (National Fraud Intelligence Bureau).

Fraudsters are emailing members of the public who are expecting to make a payment for property repairs. The fraudsters will purport to be a tradesman who has recently completed work at the property and use a similar email address to that of the genuine tradesman. They will ask for funds to be transferred via bank transfer. Once payment is made the victims of the scam soon realise they have been deceived when the genuine tradesman requests payment for their services.

Protect yourself:
  • Always check the email address is exactly the same as previous correspondence with the genuine contact.
  • For any request of payment via email verify the validity of the request with a phone call to the person who carried out the work.
  • Check the email for spelling and grammar as these signs can indicate that the email is not genuine.
  • Payments via bank transfer offer no financial protection; consider using alternative methods such as a credit card or PayPal which offer protection and an avenue for recompense.
If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040.

Click for the Thames Valley Police website

Wednesday 11 January 2017

Fake Amazon emails claim you have placed an order

This is a message sent via Thames Valley Alert and has been sent on behalf of Action Fraud (National Fraud Intelligence Bureau)

Action Fraud has received several reports from victims who have been sent convincing looking emails claiming to be from Amazon. The spoofed emails from “service@amazon.co.uk” claim recipients have made an order online and mimic an automatic customer email notification.
The scam email claims recipients have ordered an expensive vintage chandelier. Other reported examples include: Bose stereos, iPhones and luxury watches.

The emails cleverly state that if recipients haven’t authorised the transaction they can click on the help centre link to receive a full refund. The link leads to an authentic-looking website, which asks victims to confirm their name, address, and bank card information.

Amazon says that suspicious e-mails will often contain:
  • Links to websites that look like Amazon.co.uk, but aren't Amazon.co.uk.
  • Attachments or prompts to install software on your computer.
  • Typos or grammatical errors.
  • Forged (or spoofed) e-mail addresses to make it look like the e-mail is coming from Amazon.co.uk.
Amazon will never ask for personal information to be supplied by e-mail.
You can read more about identifying suspicious emails claiming to be from Amazon by visiting this Amazon page.

To report a fraud or cyber crime, call us on 0300 123 2040.


Wednesday 14 December 2016

Lloyds Bank - Fake Bank Letters

This is a message sent via Action Fraud Alert and has been sent on behalf of Action Fraud (National Fraud Intelligence Bureau).

Lloyds customers should be on the lookout for a new sophisticated fraud that involves fraudsters sending fake bank letters.

The convincing letters being sent are a replica template from Lloyds and include their logo, address and signature from a customer service representative.
The letter tells recipients that there have been some “unusual transactions” on their personal account and asks them to call a number highlighted in bold to confirm they are genuine.
When victims call the number, an automated welcome message is played and the caller is asked to enter their card number, account number and sort code followed by their date of birth.Victims are then instructed to enter the first and last digit of their security number.

The fraud was spotted by the Daily Telegraph who was alerted to it by a reader who had three identical letters sent to an office address. On separate occasions the Daily Telegraph ran some tests using fake details and were passed to fraudsters who claimed to be from a Lloyds contact centre. The bank has confirmed that the phone number and letters are fake.
The letters are essentially a sophisticated phishing attempt and serves as a warning to consumers to question written correspondence from their banks.

If you are ever suspicious about correspondence from your bank you should call the customer serviced number on the back of their card.

To report a fraud and cyber crime, call us on 0300 123 2040 or visit http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud

Click for the Thames Valley Police website

Thursday 10 November 2016

Neighbourhood Police Newsletter

The Neighbourhood Police Update for November is now available here.

Click for the Thames Valley Police website