Policing - Pocklington Provincial Update for January 2017

Pocklington Provincial Update for January 2017

1. Priority

Issue: Pocklington Town Centre area (Evenings):

Throughout January we are to continue our High Visibility patrols of the Pocklington Town Centre area to deter potential anti-social behaviour. These patrols include regular checks on peripheral areas at Pocklington Infants’ School, Maxwell Road (periodic reports of criminal damage and youths causing annoyance), All Saints Church (periodic reports of anti-social behaviour on an evening) and town car parks (reports of low level anti-social behaviour). Criminal offenders will be challenged robustly, arrested or reported for summons. Penalty Notices for Disorder or warning letters may be used in appropriate cases however, those who offend should expect to be arrested and dealt with if their anti social behaviour amounts to criminal offending.  The exercise of discretion should not be expected.

2 Priority

Issue: Youths causing annoyance with Vehicles, Stamford Bridge (Evenings):

Officers will continue patrols in Stamford Bridge and the Viking Road car park. Anyone caught engaging in anti-social behaviour will be dealt with under the FAIRWAY process jointly with East Riding of Yorkshire Council. It is unlikely that any discretion will be shown.  Also drivers using their cars to cause alarm or distress will be considered for warnings and possible seizure of their vehicles under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act.

3. Examples of crimes in your area

• A parked car in Pocklington was sprayed with paint all down one side and a front tyre damaged.
• A parked car was scratched causing damage to both front doors and the bonnet.
• Entry was gained into a secure workshop on a farm and a bicycle was stolen.
• 3 large business banners where stolen from buildings near Wilberfoss.
• A car bonnet was damaged as the result of it being scratched.
• A parked car in the Market Place was damaged.

4. News and Appeals

Telephone and letter Scams

Telephone Scams

Telephone scams typically involve fraudsters deceiving victims into believing they are speaking to a police officer, a member of bank staff, or a representative of another trusted organization, such as a well-known computer company in order to steal money. 

Always be on your guard if you receive a cold call and are asked for any of the following:

• Personal or financial information, eg full name, date of birth, address, passwords, bank details, security numbers etc.
• You are asked to transfer or withdraw money.
• You are asked to hand over your credit / debit card or cash to someone eg a courier who will call and collect it.

The bank or the police will never tell you to take such actions or ask you for financial information.  If you are asked to do any of these things, someone is trying to con you!!  If in doubt, call back the organization on a number you trust, but do it on another phone or leave it at least five minutes before you make the call. This is important because criminals are able to keep the line open for two minutes after you put down the phone, which means you could end up inadvertently talking to the criminal or their accomplice again.

There are many different scams, several of which are listed below:

• “We believe there is a fault on your computer but we can fix this now if you give us your card details to make a payment” – say no thank you and put the telephone down. Do not engage in further conversation as these people can be very persuasive and before you know it they will have access to your computer and can freeze/lock it!  (Computer firms do not make unsolicited phone calls to help you fix your computer or to inform you that an update is required.  Fraudsters make these calls to try and steal from you and damage your computer. Treat all unsolicited phone calls with scepticism and don’t give out your bank details or any personal information. If your computer crashes or becomes frozen as a result of the phone call then you will need to take it to a local computer/software company to have it cleaned and fixed.)

• “We are ringing on behalf of the bank and believe that someone is trying to access your bank account, so we will create you a new account now over the phone and then if you give me your current bank details I will transfer your money over into your new account immediately.” Do not give out any information, inform the caller that you will go to your own bank to speak to someone face to face and put the phone down.

Letter/Email Scams

Often these letters or emails look official and cover various subjects eg winning a lottery abroad or asking for help in moving money out of an account in a different country:-

• A lottery scam:

You may receive a letter or email informing you that you have won a large amount of money on an overseas or online lottery.  The correspondence will ask you to contact an “official” who will then probably ask for more personal details and your bank details.  They may also ask you to pay various fees up front before they can release your winnings.  Never respond to any communication, if you haven’t entered a lottery then you can’t have won it.  This is a scam and there is no “winnings” to be transferred.  Do not give out any bank details or pay any fees in advance

• Money abroad and help required:

These types of letter scams are often from a different country eg China or West Africa. The letters often claim to be from someone in a position of authority such as a senior government employee or a lawyer claiming that they have access to a large amount of money; that they want to move it out of the country; giving reasons why they can’t do it themselves and why they need your help eg they can’t open an overseas bank account or you have the same name.  In the letter the fraudsters will ask permission to pay the money into your account before they can transfer it onwards and will inform you that there will be a reward or a percentage of the money will be given to you to say thank you for your assistance.  They will ask you for your bank details and ask you not to let anybody know what you are doing and that it has to be done very quickly.  

This is a scam and there is no money to be transferred.  Do not ring any of the phone numbers on the letter or reply to the email contact.  All they want to do is get your bank details and empty your bank account of its contents!

For other hints and tips log onto the www.actionfraud.police.uk website, which lists an A – Z of different fraud types as well as tips on how to protect yourself from fraud.