Kent Community Watch January 2023

Xmas gif ts you didn’t want

Women more likely than men to give away unwanted gifts

USED deodorant, out of date chocolate and a book about aliens and doomsday have been named as some of the nation's worst gifts, as new Which? research reveals one in four people received an unwanted present at Christmas

In Januar y 2022, the consumer champion sur veyed almost 1,800 members of the public who received a Christmas present and found that a quar ter (24%) had received an unwanted or unsuitable gift last Christmas.

When asked what they did with the unwanted gift, one in four (24%) admitted they had given it away, one in seven (15%) exchanged it for something else from the retailer and fewer than eight per cent returned the gift

Less popular ways of getting rid of unsuitable gifts included selling it on a marketplace (7%), throwing it away (5%) and giving it back to the person who gifted it (2%).

Which? found women were more likely than men to give away their presents – three in 10 (29%) women decided to find a new home for their disappointing presents compared to one in five (18%) men

The consumer champion also asked people about the worst Christmas gifts they have ever received

Among them was a dustpan and brush, out of date chocolate and wine , vodka gifted to a pregnant woman and used deodorant

One respondent said they had received a book by a conspiracy theorist about doomsday and aliens. Another

Think about donating your unwanted gift to charity

person said they received over £100 of regular dair y chocolate from their grandmother They said: “I’m allergic to dair y, and if I ate it, it would literally kill me . ”

An overwhelming three quar ters (74%) of those sur veyed said that none of the Christmas presents they received included a gift receipt - meaning they would not be able to exchange any unwanted items for something more suitable .

Don’t

Most retailers extend their return policy during the festive period, so if you have received a disappointing gift you may be able to exchange it for another item or a voucher if you have a gift receipt.

However, customers should carefully consider whether to accept vouchers, as they could become wor thless if the retailer goes bust.

The buyer is often the only one who can request a refund or exchange

However, retailers may allow gift recipients to return gifts in exchange for a gift card, voucher or credit note so long as the item was marked as a gift at the time of purchase

If you do not have a gift receipt, you could consider donating your gift to charity or selling it on a secondhand marketplace such as eBay or Vinted

Lisa Webb, Which? Consumer Law Exper t, said: “Whether it is out of date food or used toiletries, our research shows a quar ter of us have been left wondering how to get rid of an unwanted Christmas gift.

“We’d always advise requesting a gift receipt so the recipient has the option to exchange the present if they are disappointed.

“Often only the buyer can request a refund or exchange But if the item was marked as a gift when ordered, the retailer’s returns policy may enable a recipient to return or exchange it ” Footnote: Which? sur veyed 1,792 adults in the UK who received a Christmas gift in 2021 Fieldwork was carried out online in Januar y 2022 by Opinium and data has been weighted to be representative of the UK population (aged 18+)

Which? advice on what to do with unwanted gifts is available here: https://www which co uk/consumerrights/advice/i-want-to -return-mygoods -what- are-my-rights

want it? Try selling it on marketplace or other web site

Left: A happy RSPCA inspector with an equally happy rescued dog. Below: three kittens dumped just after Christmas 2021

Heartache of festive pets

ANIMAL charities like the RSPC A are preparing for another hear tbreaking Christmas with pets bought as presents being dumped in the New Year

The stor y is the same year after year as children plead with parents to buy a cat or dog for Xmas - then end up 2023 callously dumping it in the street

In November, the RSPC A rescued three eight-week-old puppies, including one that died, dumped in a food waste bin in Kent, four puppies dumped in a garden in Warrington, and a puppy in a carrier bag in West Yorkshire .

The charity has also rescued five puppies with their umbilical cords still attached abandoned in a box in London, two cats abandoned after giving bir th to kittens in the West Midlands, and nine rabbits dumped in a wheelie bin in Nottinghamshire

The hear tache is never ending. From the star t of 2022 to October RSPC A rescuers dealt with 13,159 incidents of abandonment, seeing an increase of 10,519 on the same figures from 2021.

Residents are being urged to look out for the warning signs of animals on sale from puppy farms

No matter how often animal charities tell us not to buy pets for Christmas, we do, and sadly many would-be pet owners are scammed – either they hand over their cash to find there is no puppy,

The scammers are clever In the financial year 2020 – 21 prospective pet owners were scammed out of two and

a half million pounds

The pandemic provided the perfect cover. As people are working from and spending more time at home , demand for pets has increased

As the prices rose during Covid and more unscrupulous sellers entered the market it was easy for them to sell animals without any proper access to their premises because social distancing had to be maintained.

But puppy farms are not quite how most people imagine them, Andy Newman at Hounslow rescue centre said fraudsters often sell from what appears to be a respectable family home

the child So it’s just a front ”

This problem is replicated all over the countr y and unscrupulous traders sell dogs knowing they are ill; the dogs are bred somewhere else , which probably does look like how you would imagine , with animals often left alone for hours on end in their own filth in poorly lit rooms, sharing drinking bowls, in unhygienic conditions where disease like Canine par vovirus easily spreads. Here is Andy Newman’s checklist for avoiding criminal activity: Ask for ID from the seller Walk away and repor t the sale if they cannot provide it

Check the photo ID of the seller matches the address the puppies are being sold from, and that they can prove residence at the address Never, ever, buy from any third par ty address

He went to one recently where on the surface ever ything seemed fine:

“It was a house , it wasn’t a dir ty cage or anything like that. It was a three bedroom house , there was a woman and a child and a mum dog was present” only as it turned out, “ mum dog wasn’t mum

“It was a borrowed dog or something along those lines – a dog that was friendly that they could pass off as mum “The house wasn’t theirs, it wasn’t their child and the ‘ mum ’ wasn’t the mum of

however plausible the reason given. Beware of sellers of high value dogs who are unlicenced License should be displayed on the proper ty and licence number placed in all adver tisements

Beware puppies microchipped and vaccinated in a ver y shor t timeframe prior to sale

Check the phone number listed in the adver t in a search engine to see if any other adver ts appea

Report your concerns to the Local Authority Animal Welfare , Animal Warden, or Licensing teams, as well as any welfare charities

Covid made us dependent on the internet and fraud rose

By Megan Elkin

THE impact of lockdown restrictions on levels of crime is one of the lesser told stories of the coronavirus pandemic .

With large par ts of the population asked to stay in their homes, so-called traditional crimes such as burglar y and robber y decreased.

However, this was offset by rises in fraud as criminals exploited changing behaviours and more reliance of online and phone ser vices.

Here , Meghan Elkin explains how today’s first comparable figures to before the pandemic help us understand whether there are sustained impacts on

levels of crime .To best understand levels of crime , you first need to be able to accurately measure it

While there’s no one perfect source , the best way we have is the Crime Survey for England and Wales, where we inter view thousands of people each year, asking them about their experiences of crime .

While the crime sur vey has consistently provided a comparable view of overarching trends, the onset of the pandemic and restrictions placed on all our lives meant we could we no longer inter view people in their homes

This presented a significant challenge for us; under these circumstances, how

could we continue to provide the best evidence of how crime was impacting on all our lives? To overcome this data gap, we launched the Telephone Crime Sur vey for England and Wales (TCSEW) in May 2020

Then in October 2021, we were able to reinstate face to face inter viewing through the CSEW and today we ’ ve been able to provide the first comparable estimates across all crime types to before the pandemic Caution needs to be taken when interpreting these figures, as the data collection covers a shor ter time-period, and we had a lower response rate . continued page 5

From page 4

What the latest crime survey figures tell us

Overall crime now looks to be continuing the downward trajector y of the past decade with today’s figures for year ending June 2022 showing an 8% decrease compared to the year ending March 2020

Focusing on individual crime types we see a significant decrease in theft which is now 19% lower than pre-pandemic It’s too early to tell whether this represents a new trend but suggest a sustained impact of COVID-19 on this crime type

We also see a significant decrease in computer misuse offences which is 27% lower than the pre-pandemic year This categor y includes computer viruses, data breaches and hacking It’s possible that as people went on-line more during the pandemic , they’ve become more aware of precautions they can take against these offences

However, more data is needed to understand if this decrease will be sustained and what the drivers of it are

Across other crime types, there has been no significant change in the levels of crime recorded in the sur vey This includes fraud which had shown significant increases during the pandemic but has now returned to pre-pandemic levels

This suggests the increase obser ved was specific to the pandemic rather than a sustained change in trends. This has also been seen in other data sources, such as Action Fraud What the latest police figures tell us We don’t recommend using overall Police Recorded Crime (PRC) figures as they are heavily impacted by changes in recording and repor ting practices. However, for some crime types that are recorded well, especially lower-volume , higher-harm crimes, we can gain additional insight from PRC data.

For such crime types we ’ ve seen decreases when compared to March 2020 levels This includes burglar y, robber y, vehicle offences, knife crime , firearms and homicide which are all down on March 2020 levels

For some crime types we ’ ve seen large increases in the police figures. Such as rape and sexual offences and in stalking and harassment

However, these increases are im-

pacted by a number of factors likely including improvements in identifying and recording offences and an increased confidence in victims coming forward to repor t these offences.

What does our comparability analysis tell us about trends over the pandemic?

During the pandemic we used the telephone crime sur vey which differed from the traditional crime sur vey

Impor tantly, par ticipants who took par t in TCSEW were asked to par ticipate in future waves of the sur vey at approximately three-month inter vals Other differences are outlined here .

Between October 2021 and March 2022, we ran face to face inter viewing as well as on the phone , giving us six months of data from both the TCSEW and CSEW which could be used for comparability analysis we have also published today

We’ve found there have been no significant differences in estimates between CSEW and TCSEW for most headline crime types This provides assurance that the main measures of crime were broadly comparable between the two sur veys

However, our analysis shows that the telephone sur vey may have been underestimating the level of vehicle related theft offences while overestimating the level of computer misuse offences

There are likely to be multiple reasons for these differences stemming from the change in sur vey design

For example , looking at computer misuse , it is possible the increased number of offences in the telephone sur vey may have been the result of asking the

same questions at 3-month inter vals.

This may stimulate respondents to remember less serious offences than they wouldn’t otherwise recall and making them more likely to be repor ted in the telephone sur vey

During the pandemic we had repor ted increases in computer misuse . Today’s decrease when compared to pre-pandemic levels suggests that any increases were likely to be specific to the pandemic .

But our comparability analysis also highlights that these figures may have been inflated during this period

It’s wor th noting that the number of fraud incidents is around 6 times the volume of computer misuse So while the TCSEW may overestimate computer misuse , the evidence still suggests an increase in overall crime at points during the pandemic What does the future hold?

These crime estimates are based on nine months of face-to-face inter viewing, so some caution should be taken when interpreting the data

We’ll closely monitor the situation and over time we’ll get more post-pandemic data to fully understand trends

Meghan Elkin is the joint head of crime statistics at the ONS

The cost-of-living cowboys

THE Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) issued a 'be on your guard' warning following a rise in complaints about doorstep callers

The cowboy traders are knocking on doors out of the blue and telling homeowners they may be eligible for free insulation under the Government funding scheme.

The rogues then use pressure selling techniques and persuasive jargon about the energy crisis to make the householders agree to remedy works being completed and to pay upfront, with reassurances they can claim the costs back from the Government.

One such example of these high-pressure selling techniques is offering a ‘free health check’ of the householder’s roof, which results in false claims about poor insulation and issues with damp and mould.

Sometimes the traders just spray foam claiming it is a solution to resolve the issues, even if this is not necessary.There have been problems with people selling their houses or applying for mortgages if this is not done right

CTSI Lead Officer for Scams and Doorstep Crime, Katherine Hart (pictured above) said:“Times are tough for people right now, and every penny is needed for some households to just keep their heads above the water.

“These rogue doorstep callers are preying on the most vulnerable in our communities and promising them all sorts of lies to help with the cost of living However, these criminals will prey on anyone, any age, and any background.

“We know that reputable traders may have a backlog at the moment and this makes us want to cut corners, but we have to be patient and don’t fall foul for a scam that may cost dearly in the future

“Trading Standards are doing all they can to stamp out these unscrupulous traders, but consumer education is key.Warn your grandparents, your parents, and your neighbours to never engage with anyone that turns up unannounced at the door”

Further advice on how to save money on your energy bills can be found at the Energy Saving Trust

John Herriman, Chief Executive of CTSI,

said:“There has been a 28% increase in doorstep crime in the past year Many criminals are using the cost-of-living crisis to exploit consumers at a time when they are making tough decisions about whether to heat their homes, or feed their families

“Trading Standards continue the fight to stamp out these criminals by working in partnership with other agencies, but this has become increasingly difficult as gaps in consumer protection are emerging

“We remind the public how important it is to report these crimes as Trading Standards action is intelligence lead, so the resources will be focused on where the detriment is at its highest and consumers are most at risk..”

For consumer advice, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.

Top tips: Never agree to anything on the doorstep – take time to think Look at reviews but do not rely on them – they can be faked

Make sure you get all the paperwork and keep it safe

Use a trader from an Approved Trader Scheme

Always pay for services using methods such as; credit card, debit card,Apple Pay and PayPal as this gives added protection

It’s the

Matt Allwright, journalist and broadcaster, - better known for presenting BBCs Rogue Traders - is supporting the campaign

He said:“I’ve seen first-hand the damage that doorstep crime does – not just to their bank balance, but to their self-esteem, confidence and faith in the world I’m so pleased to see boroughs taking action to stamp it out

|”Too many household have experienced the heartbreak of being the targets of crime in their own home, and I want to be part of whatever can be done to reduce the huge harm it causes ”

The doorstep crimes booklet includes 12 tips to protect residents. Click this link to download the booklet .

https://bit.ly/3SJMzms

LONDON Trading Standards (LTS) has produced a universal booklet - Don’t Deal At The Door - filled with information on what to look out for, ways to stay alert and who to contact about rogue tradesmen

first time such a guide has been produced offering advice on how to tackle doorstep callers.

Advice booklet will help you to beat the rogues

Don’t swim with the sharks

MANY people will be waking up to 2023 wondering how they are going to pay for Christmas borrowing.

Thousands will have borrowed on credit cards or taken out loans to pay for the festive season.

But a shock repor t by the Centre for Social Justice - Swimming With Sharkshas revealed that as many as 1 08 million families may have borroswed oney from an illegal money lender.

Two in five of us confessed in a recent sur vey to concealing a financial product from a loved one , such as a credit card or loan.

But despite how common it is to disguise our financial situation, some hidden debts are worse than others.

Money borrowed from an illegal lender is arguably the most dangerous categor y of hidden debt

And yet there remain large gaps in

our collective understanding of this notoriously elusive crime .

The CSJ repor t attempts to put this right – and is the culmination of the first major study of illegal money lending in a decade .

CSJ teams travelled the breadth of the countr y to understand where and how illegal lending takes place; commissioned polling of over 8,000 UK adults; compiled and analysed the largest sample of known victims to date ,

They heard first-hand the powerful stories of those exploited, often by ‘friends’ who turn out to not be friends at all In England today, we estimate that as many as 1 08 million people could be borrowing from an illegal money lender.

Illegal lending exists in many forms, from small-scale lenders who pester their victims into repayment to violent predators and organised crime groups.

Some lenders even attempt to add a thin veil of legitimacy to their illegal lending by adver tising themselves as a company, drawing up fake contracts, and independently lending to vulnerable clients while working for a separate , legitimate company.

Yet the practices used by illegal lenders are changing New evidence presented in this repor t shows illegal lenders to be increasingly operating online , using the rapidly evolving social media landscape to entice and exploit

new victims

Using an unpublished dataset of over 1,200 victims, we have carried out the first analysis of its kind to understand the picture of loan shark victims today

What emerges in the data of known victims is that anyone can be exploited by an illegal money lender, but most victims face a range of interwoven disadvantages – low incomes, long-term health problems and pre-existing indebtedness

These are the people at the sharpest edge of today’s cost-of-living crisis. And the combination of pressures on household budgets, low financial resilience and increasingly limited credit options is liable to create a perfect storm in which people are driven towards exploitation

Given this context, the continued scale of the problem and its ruinous impact on the lives of the most disadvantaged people in society, the CSJ believes that we must urgently renew the fight against illegal money lending.

In Swimming with Sharks, the CSJ advance 24 recommendations to tackle illegal lending in England today and put people on a path to financial resilience .

Read the full report on YouTube by clicking on the link below https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=1R4wOcEW5uc&feature=yout u.be

In England today, the Centre fior Social Justice estimates that as many as 1.08 million people could be borrowing from an illegal money lender, very often violent predators or criminal groups

CRIME A AND COMMU NITY NEW S

Sextor tion war ning by police

DETECTIVES are warning social media users to be vigilant and not share private intimate images online with strangers

‘Sextortion’ refers to a specific type of cyber-enabled crime in which victims are lured into recording themselves performing sexual acts or providing intimate images.

Unbeknown to victims, their actions are recorded by criminals who then use the video footage or the images they have shared to blackmail them.

Generally, criminals request money and if demands are not met the offenders threaten to upload the recordings or images to the internet and send them to the victims’ friends and family Sometimes there are even escalating requests for further payment

Increase in incidents

Just recently officers have seen an increase in these types of incidents but the images have been shared with the victim’s contacts. No money has been sent

On one occasion the victim reported that he was speaking to a woman online and pictures were exchanged. The blackmailers then threatened to expose intimate pictures of him to his friends and family if he did not pay £1,000

No money was handed over, but the blackmailers set up a group chat of the victims’ followers and distributed the images

On another occasion the victim was messaged by the suspect, who asked to see intimate images The suspect screen recorded the image and demanded money or she would send the images on No money was sent but the images were posted in a chat group

Detective Sergeant Andrew West from the East Kent CID said: “Our advice remains not to pay However the blackmailers are increasingly sharing images if you don’t pay “If you do pay they will likely continue to target you for further payments until you can no longer afford to and the images are shared anyway.

“We would still encourage people not to pay the blackmailers but also to think before they share intimate images or videos online with someone Especially if the request for such images escalates soon after initial contact, even the same day

“We are investigating these incidents with a view to bringing offenders to justice and want to take this opportunity to remind people of the ways they can prevent themselves falling victim

“Any victims of unreported offences should contact police Officers take reports of this kind seriously and each case will be dealt with in confidence with no judgement made.' How to avoid becoming a victim: Be ver y careful about who you befriend online, especially if you ' re considering sharing anything intimate with them. The attractive person in the video chat may have been coerced themselves

A profile photo may be of someone completely different, or not represent a true location for the person

You could perform a reverse image search for the profile image and see if it appears elsewhere on the web but in a different context, for instance it might be a stock photo of a model or of a background.

It is still best not to share intimate images or sexual acts online even with

people you know.

Videos can be recorded, images can be saved or have screenshots made from them, and easily published online where they can be shared and copied further. Once images are out there, they are ver y difficult to get rid of

If it’s happened to you, don’t panic You may naturally feel ashamed or embarrassed, but remember, you are the victim of organised criminals, you are not alone, and confidential support is available.

Be war y if you are asked to move from an initial platform to another one and are then asked for such images.

Check your social media security settings to restrict viewing access by strangers to your contacts

Check your devices camera settings and only activate the camera when you need it

Be war y of poor quality or pre recorded video contact. If what you see on screen doesn’t feel right or seems wrong, don’t engage further Report it Don't pay up

The criminal may publish the compromising images anyway, or they may come back to you for more money

Screenshot any usernames, email, contact details or other information that relate to the suspect. End all communication with the blackmailers

Keep warm, but keep safe

FOLLOWING an electric blanket incident which left a man fighting for breath, Kent Fire and Rescue Ser vice is urging ever yone to test their smoke alarms weekly, and take extra care if opting for alternative or more cost effective ways to stay warm

Adrian Bevan from Albion Way, Edenbridge , had a lucky escape when his electric blanket overheated as he slept – filling his bedroom, and his lungs, with acrid smoke

Adrian put the blanket on the floor and went to bed – but forgot to manually switch it off, and it didn’t have a timer or automatic shut off function like more modern products.

Electric blanket safety tips

Check your electric blanket for wear and tear – if it’s damaged don’t use it

If buying a new one , get it from a reputable supplier and make sure it has safety functions like a timer and automatic switch off

If borrowing or buying second hand from a friend or online marketplace , examine it first – if there’s wear and tear don’t use it

Be sure not to use an electric blanket and a hot water bottle at the same time – liquid and electricity don’t mix

Don’t ever allow someone with incontinence to use an electric blanket –liquid and electricity don’t mix

Remember, test your smoke alarm once a week to help protect you, your home and your loved ones - It's best to have at least one installed on each floor of your proper ty

Tea-towel campaign

AS par t of a new campaign, Kent Fire and Rescue Ser vice (KFRS) is also calling on residents across the county to store their tea towels at least 50cm away from the hob, to help reduce the risk of a fire and keep their families safe

One in three people living in Kent and Medway have accidentally star ted a fire after leaving a tea towel or other items too close to the hob, a sur vey has revealed

Since Januar y this year, Kent firefighters have responded to more than 200 accidental kitchen fires

But, new research indicates the true number of fires happening in kitchens across the county, where residents don’t call 999 for the fire ser vice , could be even higher

KFRS Area Manager Charlie Smith said: “We know from experience that fires in the home are most likely to star t in the kitchen

“Through our new campaign, we want to reduce that risk by advising people to hook tea towels well away from the cooking area – whether that’s with a hook on the wall, on the kitchen door, on a cupboard, or inside a cupboard if you have limited space

“To help people take action, we ’ re giving away free tea towels hooks while stocks last

“Anyone without a hook can hang their tea towel on a door knob, put it in a drawer, or on the work top – as long as it’s well away the cooking area ”

You can request a free tea towel hook by emailing your full name and home address to info@kent fire-uk org, or by calling 01622 692121

Crime team signs three new recruits

KENT

They

Chief Inspector Craig West, of Kent Police’s Dog Section, said: “Police dogs play a vital role in modern policing and work side-by- side with officers and staff to keep people safe and help bring offenders to justice. Dogs like these use their extraordinary sense of smell to track down evidence at scenes of crime, or to help locate people who may be injured and in need of our assistance. We just could not carry out this type of work without them, which is one of the reasons why our police dogs are held in such high regard ”

Four sent enced f or goldf inger fraud

FOUR men who worked together to scam 343 victims out of £5 4 million in bogus goldmine investments have been sentenced.

The scammers worked for a company called IPR Capital Ltd, which employed broker companies as sales agents to sell shares in relation to a gold mine in Ecuador.

Stephen Todd, 40, Royal Quay, Liverpool, was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, along with a 12 month curfew for con-

spiracy to defraud.

He was a disqualified director and acted as the brainchild of the scam by employing and training sales agents.

Steven Mayne , 41, Coleherne Road, West Brompton, was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, along with a 12 month curfew for conspiracy to defraud.

He worked as the director and was the signator y to company accounts, as well as conducting compliance calls.

David Williams, 40, Brambles Close ,

Minster, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, along with a 12 month curfew order for money laundering.

He worked in IT at the company, alongside being a director of one of the sales agents and a signator y on the account.

John Andrews, 53, Peel Road, Orpington was sentenced to 12 months in prison for money laundering He worked as the office manager and authorised payments.

Police’s dog section has added three new recruits to their team. Police Dogs Belle and Gigi, both cocker spaniels, and Dixon, a springer spaniel, with their handlers PC Lisa Riddle, PC Craig Whorlow and PC Ian Atkins are now trained forensic recovery dogs after completing the eight-week course.

join the team of three other forensic recovery dogs and will work closely with Crime Scene Investigators to help search and locate forensic evidence such as blood.

Any individual, community group, Neighbourhood Watch scheme, business, charity or other organisation in England and Wales can sign up for FREE, including schools and universities, community centres, taxi firms and public places such as museums, libraries and leisure centres.

Keep your community safe

NEIGHBOURHOOD Watch has launched its own Community Safety Charter - and you can get involved if you care about keeping your community safe

The aim of the Charter is to involve a wider range of local organisations, charities, businesses and groups in crime prevention activity and extend the scope of this work towards a goal of eliminating harassment, antisocial behaviour, and intimidation experienced by anyone who lives, works, studies, or visits anywhere in England and Wales

The Charter is a means by which Neighbourhood Watch members, local residents, businesses, and organisations, agree to do whatever they can together to provide an environment that is safer for everyone, and help us to meet this goal by committing to the following Pledges :

Promote a culture that does not tolerate antisocial behaviour, harassment, intimidation and hostility towards others

Enable others to identify and take an active stance against these crimes and incidents

Actively encourage and support those who experience or witness these crimes and incidents to report them to the relevant authorities

Support those affected and signpost those who need further support to agencies who can help them

Who can sign up to the Charter?

Any individual, community group, Neighbourhood Watch scheme, business, charity or other organisation in England and Wales can sign up for FREE, including schools and universities, community centres, taxi firms and public places (such as museums, libraries, leisure centres)

Why sign up to the Charter?

Individuals will feel safer because they know the whole community is looking out for them, which can have a profound effect on their wellbeing, feelings of safety and confidence

No one wants the fear of harassment and intimidation in their community Signing up to the Charter sends a clear message that this behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated by your organisation or group

You will have a clear role in empowering people to do something

positive to prevent these crimes in their neighbourhood

You will be creating a more positive, safer environment where you work or live

The collective power of a wide range of local community members, all working towards a shared goal will have a much greater impact than working individually

What will I receive?

Downloadable copies of the Charter to display

Downloadable or interactive training modules in various formats to use for you and your members/staff/volunteer

Crime prevention advice and guidance through our dedicated website pages

Other promotional materials (for example badges, pens, window display stickers and beer mats) to purchase at a later stage

The opportunity to attend online events to share ideas and good practices in promoting and implementing the Charter

The opportunity to sign up for Alerts about the crime affecting your local area

Invited to become a Affiliate member of Neighbourhood Watch, whilst keeping your group or business identity

How can I get involved?

Identify a lead from your organisation/group/business

Sign up to the Community Safety Charter, agreeing to uphold its principles and promote it within your community, business, and networks

Display the Charter on your premises, your neighbourhood and/or on your website

Promote the Charter through your social media channels

Register your group or organisation as an affiliate of Neighbourhood Watch on the Neighbourhood Watch Register at www.ourwatch.org.uk/join

Raise awareness amongst your community, group and /or with your members about harassment and intimidation and how to prevent and report it

Renew your commitment to the Community Safety Charter every three years.

Rise in insurance fraudsters

MORE people are turning to fraud as the cost of living crisis begins to bite as new findings by the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) reveal more people have been added to the Insurance Fraud Register (IFR)

The finding indicate more people than ever could chance fraud amid the costof-living crisis as they seek new, illegal, ways to earn money and ease the financial burden

In the past 12 months up to June , 5,058 people were added to the IFRaround 100 people a week This is up 17% from 4,319 individuals added in the previous 12 months.

The rise in IFR cases comes as new YouGov research (commissioned by IFB) reveals one in five young adults

would consider turning to fraud if they were struggling financially

With the cost-of-living crisis placing millions of people in financial turmoil, IFB has launched its Don’t Chance Fraud campaign to highlight why succumbing to the temptations of fraud and landing on the IFR has devastating consequences for all.

Ben Fletcher, Director at the Insurance Fraud Bureau, said: “As millions struggle because of the cost-of-living crisis, the sad reality is more people could be tempted to chance insurance fraud and face the serious consequences of having a record on the Insurance Fraud Register.

“There are no winners when it comes to fraud If someone intentionally lies

on an insurance application or claim, they’ll be put on the Insurance Fraud Register which can deny them access to essential insurance ser vices for years to come . They could face criminal prosecution Plus, the added costs from fraud unfairly make insurance more expensive for ever yone else . ”

What is the IFR and how do people end up on it?

The IFR is national database of insurance fraudsters, accessed by 82% of the UK’s general insurance market.

When an insurance application or claim is proven to be fraudulent the insurer can register individuals, businesses and ar ticles (such as emails and phone numbers) linked to the fraud on the IFR

There are currently over 50,000 records on the IFR and around 19,000 entries are people . Amongst individuals, the unemployed or those earning a low-income are sadly more likely to have an IFR record Notably, millennials (26-41 year olds as of 2022) make up half of all cases

The recent rise in IFR cases comes as insurers double down effor ts to stop fraudulent activity adding costs to honest customers’ premiums, as so many struggle to make ends meet. Top five reasons someone is added to the IFR

Submitting fake no-claims-discount (NCD) documentation

Fronting - which is when someone puts themselves down as a named driver for a vehicle for which they are actually the owner/main driver.

Exaggerating damage or injur y on what would otherwise be a legitimate claim

Claiming for lost items which are later proven to be in possession

‘Crash for Cash’ scams (staged motor collisions).

What are the consequences of being on the IFR?

IFR records are held for five years Those on the database could be denied insurance ser vices or will have to pay a significantly higher cost due to the increased risk they pose .

During each issue we will be highlight cases of shoddy and often dangerous work so that you take the correct steps before employing any builder to do work on your home. To be safe and to be sure, use the Kiistone App and this will save you untold heartache and heartbreak...and money.

How to avoid financial hell

IF you think you need a reason to make thorough checks on any tradesman doing work on your home , just read on We have highlighted two stories which shows how some rogue operators behave .

And the hear tache of all residents could have been avoided had they downloaded the Kiistone App to make sure that no tradesman could walk off with their money

Com pany 1

This company (we haven’t named them for legal reasons) has taken £4250 from a client and hasn't done any work whatsoever.

The company allege they spent £900 on scaffolding, but there is no scaffold and no refund and the owner refuses to say where this money has gone .

There’s £200 for skip, but no skip, no refund, and no idea where the money has gone The rest should have gone on materials but there aren’t any and no receipts.

The builder has lied to customers stating scaffold has been paid for and about to go up and has basically gaslighted us into thinking work would proceed but now he is ignoring the client

Com pany 2

A TRADESMAN from Torquay was given a 43-month prison sentence and a Criminal Behaviour Order for 10 years at Bristol Crown Cour t after pleading guilty to running a fraudulent business

Between 1 October 2016 and 30 April 2018 Daniel Denison, 60, of Kingsteignton, Devon, was paid significant amounts of money by homeowners for building work which he either failed to complete or never even star ted

Mr Denison took substantial deposits from eight customers before delivering building works to a poor standard, failing to apply for planning permission when required, requesting additional payments for so-called ‘extras’ or leaving jobs unfinished.

Completion deadlines for building work were missed and calls from his victims were repeatedly ignored

Once the customer agreed to the work, they paid a 10% deposit and whilst in some cases works did commence , frequently it would then be months before they heard anything with completion deadlines passing before works even began. Had customers used the Kiistone App they would not have been out of pocket or living in a nightmare

If you need a reason why you should sign up to Kiistone , check out Cowboy Builders (rogue Traders) on Facebook and read about the hear tbreak suffered by hundred’s of members

The Kiistone App has been designed by Tim Mullock and it has been specifically designed to ensure that builders cannot rip you off in the way that these criminals have done

Kiistone, which aims to protect consumers from rogue traders, provide peace of mind to honest tradespeople and restore faith and improve the image of the building industr y.

Built to reflect Tim's 23 years experience as a tradesperson, Kiistone safeguards all parties interests in a project by holding monies safely in escrow (a neutral bank account)

It offsets project stages (that include tasks mutually agreed by the customer and tradesperson) against money milestones - where funds can only be drawn down after a stage has been completed to the customers satisfaction

The tradesperson also benefits because they know the money is ‘ringfenced’ allowing them to purchase materials and invest time in a job - leading to immediate payment on completion

All messages, extras and job changes are recorded on the spot to avoid misunderstandings and reflect both parties' conduct should a dispute arise

Kiistone is the key to peace of mind and is a small price to pay when you calculate the thousands of pounds you could lose or the condition your home could be left in.

The message is: Stay alert and do your homework before you employ anyone - better still use the Kiistone app to ensure peace of mind.

helpdesk@kiistone.co.uk

Daniel Dennison, a rogue

Funeral Planning regulations: Protecting your interests

THE funeral plan industr y has undergone a massive revolution and this is due in no small way to the rise in direct cremations since the Pandemic.

Covid prevented attended funerals so people switched to direct cremation and discovered lower costs and a less stressful way to say goodbye to a loved one.

Where unlimited (and some unscrupulous) providers were once able to operate in the market, now there are just 26 trusted companies like Pure Cremation, Golden Charter and the Co-op, three industr y leaders

The reason the smaller, less reliable companies fell by the wayside is because some firms did not meet the required standards due to non-compliance of the new rules including; mis-selling, failing to disclose important information, and failing to have measures in place to protect consumer funds

Now as a regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will have greater control into how businesses are run within the funeral planning sector to

ensure they are being honest and fair to the customer

The newly imposed FCA regulation in place on 1st August 2022, will improve consumer confidence and ensure better consumer outcomes It will offer higher standards, more intensive scrutiny of the regulated companies themselves and ensure consumers are protected As with any legislation, there are many new rules which are as follows: Cold calling customers is banned, and the new standards being placed on advertising will result in plans being marketed more clearly

A ban on commission payments to intermediaries, such as funeral directors

A requirement for a funeral plan to deliver a funeral unless the customer dies within two years of taking out the plan, in which case a full refund will be offered

Listed providers are also directly responsible for the funeral and ensuring that the funeral is delivered in line with the specifications of the plan

The FCA approved 26 providers but also rejected the registration of other active one ’ s because they did not meet the strict financial guidelines.

If you buy your funeral plan from one of the listed 26 authorised providers, will also have access to the Financial Ser vices Compensation Scheme (FSCS) so that if this provider fails for any reason, you may qualify for compensation

Customers will also be able to make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Ser vice (FOS)

With this new regulation in place, the market has been given the same status given the same status as other financial ser vices and products such as insurance and investments It should provide greater peace of mind when dealing with a regulated provider

Before FCA regulation, the Funeral Planning Authority (FPA) had made significant progress in increasing quality standards amongst those who voluntarily signed up for independent scrutiny continued on page 15

A walk along the beach with family and friends is one way to celebrate the passing of a loved one

from page 14

Now, consumers can refer to a definitive list of companies who have been through, and passed, the stringent regulation process and have been given the green light to sell pre-paid funeral plans.

What is Direct Cremation?

Choosing a direct cremation gives you the option of treating the cremation and farewell ceremony as two completely separate events.

You decide the format, who will be involved, and you can take all the time you need to share memories, tears, and laughter – without worr ying about finishing in time for the next funeral

For many, a funeral is seen as a time to mourn. However, as we become more open about death, people are shifting towards a celebration of an individual’s life, rather than mourning their passing

A Celebration of Life is simply a ceremony designed to commemorate the experiences, relationships, and beliefs that made this person unique and special It follows no particular religious rites or requirements.

The body of the deceased doesn’t have to be present

There are no prescribed rules for

when or where to hold the event or what elements to include

The event is tailored to the wishes of the deceased or their family and friends.

Cremation with traditional service

This is usually the most expensive type of cremation It combines features of a traditional funeral with a cremation including a hearse, pallbearers, flowers, and a celebrant to lead the ser vice

Cremation and memorial service

This is a way to formally honour the memor y of the person who has died and is ver y similar to a funeral ser vice, just without the coffin present Some families

will choose to have the urn containing the ashes as the focal point.

Cremation with body donation to science

It’s possible to donate a body to science via local medical institutions. The research facility will usually arrange a cremation at the end of the study period (typically 1-3 years) with the cremated remains returned to the family.

A memorial ser vice can be held at any time, e g shortly after the date of death, on a special date, or once the ashes have been returned.

A direct cremation is different, with minimal preparation of the deceased (no embalming), no viewing of the body, and no ceremony at the crematorium.

The body is still placed in a coffin and cremated in exactly the same facility as any other This represents the lowest cost and most fuss-free option.

It’s not really possible to say which one is right for you How the end of a person ’ s life is celebrated is a ver y personal thing.

Only you can decide what fits your wishes best when it comes to planning your own funeral

Have an informal gathering to celebrate someone’s passing

Crooks targeted ex-fraud chief

CRIMINALS have never been respectors of reputations regardless of who they may be tr ying to defraud.

And when you confront someone who has a sound knowledge of all types of fraud, then you not only have to know what you ’ re taling about, but you need balls.

Yet criminals tried to scam Britain’s former top fraud-buster who admitted they sounded ver y plausible .

Sir David Green, who ran the Serious Fraud Office for six years until 2018, said his 98-year-old father asked him for help, saying he had taken a call from BT about being owed around £100.

“I picked up the phone and immediately got through to someone , who sounded entirely plausible , ” Green said.

“It was only when they star ted to ask for my father's personal details that I realised something wasn't right – and gave them shor t shrift

“I had been talking to a scammer. They had ver y nearly taken me in – and I used to run the Serious Fraud Office and deal with cases of fraud ever y day '

Green, who now works for US law firm Cohen & Gresser, said it was clear fraudsters are buying lists of older people who have some money but were brought up in a generation that trusted authority

“They tend to believe what someone who says they're from a bank or a big business tells them, and act rather deferentially towards them,|” he said

Green also warned that organised crime is behind increasingly sophisticated frauds.

Fraud represented 40 per cent of repor ted crime in 2021 when there were more than 400,000 repor ts of online fraud and cybercrime in the UK – an increase of a third on the previous year

“And this is only the tip of the iceberg,” Green added in an opinion piece published in The Mail+.

His biggest priority now is raising awareness. “The risks of fraud should be taught in schools, in just the way that in my day a uniformed copper would come in to teach the children how zebra crossings worked,” he said.

Sir David Green

Pa ul Sa roya of V iva Retirement S ol utions exp la ins in this is s ue w hy s o ma ny eld er ly p eop le a re us ing E q uity Relea s e to a c c es s s ome of the c a p ita l a va ila b le in their hom es a nd p rovid e their c hild ren w ith a n ea r ly inher ita nc e to help them overc o me the c ur rent f ina nc ia l c r is is .

A cost of living cure

MORTGAGE interest rates continue to rise leaving some elderly mor tgage owners with current mor tgage deals, a major financial headache .

An increasing number of them are tr ying to resolve this problem by dipping into the value stored in their homes to see them through the UK’s cost of living crisis.

Some want cash to upgrade their boiler or install solar panels for more cost-effective energ y, whilst others are wondering how they can help family members, or themselves struggling with rising prices.

The most common equity release deals are mor tgagebased products that are loans secured against your home

Typically, there are no monthly repayments – the loan, including the built-up interest, is repaid from the sale of the proper ty when you die or go into long-term care These are known as lifetime mor tgages

Viva Retirement Solutions have been helping homeowners take out lifetime mor tgages on their homes to release cash for a wide variety of needs To help our family, to improve their homes and to pay off debt are some of the most popular reasons

Stephen Lowe at the retirement specialist firm Just Group says during the past year more people have been considering using housing equity to help their families

“Often this is to help them get on to the housing ladder or move to a bigger proper ty, but we ’ ve star ted to see the resilience of household balance sheets coming under pressure , and parents exploring how they might help their children and grandchildren,” he said

Years of house price growth mean that millions of older people have seen their proper ty rise in value sharply

Equity release is available to over-55s and allows homeowners to borrow a lump sum or regular smaller amounts against the value of their home from specialist lenders, without having to sell up or downsize

With many lifetime mor tgages you can make repayments if you wish, and it is probably a good idea to do that if you can Viva Retirement Solutions offer full monthly interest payments, reduced or You can even have the ability to make par tial repayments without penalty (subject to the lenders Term & Conditions).

These products are increasingly being seen by many as a way of giving family members their inheritance early, at a

time when they most need it and an oppor tunity to benefit from your inheritance while young enough to enjoy it.

A record number of new equity release plans were taken out between July and September 2022 – almost 13,500 –with new customer numbers increasing by a third year on year, according to the the Equity Release Council.

Total lending has risen by 40% since 2021, and the average person now borrows £133,770 (that is for lump sum lifetime mor tgages)

Products offered by Equity Release Council members, of which are members, have a “ no negative equity guarantee”, which means your estate will never owe more than the value of your proper ty There are also ways to keep costs down.

Many deals allow you to pay off some of the capital of your loan, or the interest, so the cost does not compound as much While most loans have early repayment charges, some disappear after about 10 years, but it can be as little as five

The most flexible deals are those that include a feature called drawdown, where you take out smaller sums when needed, with a reser ve to call on if you need it in future . You will pay less this way because you only accrue interest on the money you have released

With interest rates increasing, lifetime mor tgages have increased in cost and may not always be the best solution. At Viva Retirement Solutions, we will visit you in the comfor t of your own home and advise you whether releasing equity is right for you

A Retirement Interest Only mortgage is a long term commitment which could accumulate interest and is secured against your home. Equity release is not right for everyone and may reduce the value of your estate. Viva charge an Advice Fee after any completion of £750, typically in the market most companies will charge you £1,695 for this Call free on 0800 046 9776 to book your appointment.

TWO CREDIT UNIONS GO INTO LIQUIDATION

TWO credit unions have become victims of the recession - Gloucestershire Credit Union and Birmingham Inner Circle Community Credit Union Limited

Gloucestershire Credit Union Limited is a financial co-operative owned by its members

It is regulated as a deposit taker by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FC A) under Firm Reference

Number (FRN) 21425

Dina Devalia and James Varney of Quantuma Advisor y Limited have been appointed as joint administrators

You can find out more by emailing gcul@pkfgm.co.uk, calling 01452 595 290 or 01452 422 712, or alternatively call 0113 244 5141 Guidance is also available on their website

Members who want more information about the Birmingham Credit

Union and getting their money back from the FSCS can do so by emailing enquiries@fscs.org.uk, calling 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100 or by viewing the frequently asked questions on their website

The Financial Ser vices Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is stepping in to protect members and will return members’ money within 7 days from when the Credit Union was declared in default

Stay protected advises the FCA

THE Financial Conduct Authority

(FC A) is concerned that as pressure mounts on household budgets during the current financial crisis some customers may cut-back on the insurance they need, leaving them without protection

The government has announced fur ther suppor t for consumers and businesses for energ y costs including a two-year energ y-price guarantee for households While this will help tackle the pressure on household budgets, some people may still consider cutting back on insurance cover

The FC A is taking action to suppor t households, by writing to insurance industr y CEOs to make sure their customers are protected from unnecessar y products or add-ons and unfair penalties Where poor practise is found, the FC A will quickly inter vene to protect customers from harm

Customers, including businesses, in financial difficulty are also more likely to need to pay for their insurance monthly through premium finance They may also be the most affected by general interest rate rises and have a higher likelihood of not being able to make a payment.

If customers face increasing difficulty paying bills or repaying debts, the impact on them is unlikely to be purely financial Consumers will be more likely to face pressures on their physical and mental health, which in turn could worsen the impact of their financial difficulties

Firms can help customers in financial difficulty by:

Reassessing customers’ needs

Considering whether there are other products that better meet the customer’s needs

Providing clear information to consumers about the additional cost of premium finance

Working with customers to avoid the need to cancel nec-

essar y cover

Waiving fees associated with adjusting a customer’s policy in line with the reassessments

Considering whether cancellation fees should be removed for customers in financial difficulty

Sheldon Mills, Executive Director, consumers and competition at the FC A, said: “Customers who are struggling with their finances should contact their providers as soon as possible We encourage customers to continue to shop around to find the best deal

“Firms should not unfairly penalise them for any payment difficulties but instead work with them to find solutions

“We have a thriving and efficient insurance sector, and we want people getting the cover they need at a cost they can afford so both business and customers benefit ”

Firms must continue to provide clear information when customers renew their policy to help them decide whether they want to go ahead or shop around for a better deal

Since the cost of living squeeze began, the FC A has reminded 3,500 lenders how it expects them to suppor t borrowers who get into financial difficulty.

Although the FC A does not yet regulate Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) products, the FC A met unauthorised BNPL providers to encourage these firms to provide their customers with an appropriate level of care and suppor t.

The FC A has also told banks to improve the way they treat struggling small business owners when collecting and recovering debts and warned firms about unsuitable credit promotions.

As a result of the FC A’s work, nearly 4,000 adver ts have been amended or withdrawn, helping to protect consumers from being misled

A Xmas present that can kill

E-SCOOTERS and e-bikes were again one of the most popular presents on the Christmas list again this year. But the latest craze comes with a warning from fire chiefs

Firefighters in London were called to more than 130 fires involving the type of batteries used in e-bikes and escooters in 2021

The scooters use lithium-ion batteries which are prone to overheating if incorrectly charged and these have been banned from all parliamentar y buildings.

London Fire Brigade’s figures show it was called to 44 inciedents from ebikes, 28 from e-scooters and other incidents, including mobile phones, laptops and cases where the e-scooter or e-bike was not identified

This was four times as many as the 26 recorded in 2020.

Up top October this year The London Fire Brigade revealed that there had been 89 fires involving batteries used by e-bikes and scooters

AXA insurance has warned commercial businesses and consumers of the risks associated with fires resulting from the electrically powered micromobility vehicles

Axa UK has revealed that two large claims associated with lithium-ion batteries in an electric scooter and bike has resulted in a loss of almost half a million pounds

As this choice of transpor t increases in popularity, the insurer is warning the insurance industr y and consumers of the significant fire risk caused by these batteries being damaged, over-charged or exposed to extreme temperatures.

E-scooters can not be taken on the Tube or London buses following several alarming blazes

But there are concerns at the lack of official fire safety advice for homes, despite e-scooter batteries being blamed for at least five residential fires in London this year .

Europe’s largest e-scooter provider, VOI, who have run the public hire escooter scheme in Liverpool since October 2020, have par tnered with Lithium Batter y Recycling Solutions

(LBRS) to enable their batteries to be safely dismantled and recycled

VOI’s scooters have been declared safe despite a recent blaze in Bristol, where the scooters were temporarily withdrawn from the city

And throughout the countr y fire brigade’s have had to deal with escooter batter y fires making that latest Christmas present a potentil danger to the home

Tips to keep you safe

Please pay special attention to bike conversion kits: Do not attempt to modify or tamper with the batter y. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions

Reduce the risk of overheating: Batteries can get warm during their use Allow them to cool down before attempting to re-charge Batteries: They should always be charged on hard flat surfaces where heat can dissipate Batteries can also pose a risk if they have been damaged, so tr y to ensure they are not getting knocked around while in use or while being carried Batteries should also never be exposed to extremes of temperature . Follow the instructions

Always follow manufacturers’ instructions when charging

Never leave it charging unattended or charge it while you are asleep

You should always make sure you unplug your charger once it’s finished charging.

Always use the correct charger for your batteries and buy any replacements from a reputable seller.

Where to charge your batteries

Never block your escape route with e-bikes or e-scooters Store and charge them somewhere away from a main through route or exit

Make sure you and your family have an escape plan in place in the event of a fire Always call 999, never tr y to fight the fire yourself

Using your e-bikes or e- scooter Not all personal electric vehicles, such as e-scooters and e-unicycles are road legal in the UK. This means you can be fined by the police for using them on the road in the UK Always check to see if you can use your vehicle on public roads.

A record of shame

BURGLARS and thieves across Britain can continue robbing and stealing knowing that their chances of getting caught are unlikely

And it also revealed that Christmas is the best time for robbing.

Freedom of Information requests have revealed 899 Christmas Day Day burglaries went unsolved over the past three years.

And in the last three Decembers, there have been 65,542 burglaries, with 54,364 of these cases closed with noone being arrested or charged.

Latest Home Office figures revealed that police stopped investigating more than 1 1 million cases in England and Wales because they failed to find a suspect.

That means 1,145,254 cases from June 2021 to June 2022 left homeowners and residents without any chance of getting their valuables back

The Home Office data also revealed that the proportion of all crimes that resulted in an arrest and charge had fallen to a low of just 5 4 per cent down from more than 15 per cent seven years ago

Former Met DCI Mick Neville, 55, said: “The police need to be ashamed ”

Police did not even find a suspect for the crimes which cost on average £1,400 for each break-in. They were just part of a total of two million offences shelved by detectives, which included 300,000 violent crimes

And the overall charge rate the proportion of all crimes that result in a suspect being arrested and charged fell from more than 15 per cent seven

years ago to just 5 4 per cent

The news comes after police warned about the risk of burglars taking advantage of the festive period while many people are off visiting friends and family

Police chiefs have recently promised ever y burglar y would see a visit from a copper in a bid to restore confidence in the system

A recent report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabular y found cops were unable to effectively probe burglaries and theft due to a shortage of experienced staff and detectives.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabular y Andy Cooke said at the time the “ current low charge rates for these crimes are unacceptable” and ordered police to buck up to build back confidence.

Tor y MP and former minister Brendan Clarke Smith said of the latest figures: “I welcome the pledge from the National Police Chiefs’ Council on attending ever y home burglar y The public wants to see these criminals caught, convicted and locked up. ”

Former cop Mick Neville, 55, worked for the Met Police now led by Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley for 28 years He said: “They need to be ashamed Police are nothing more than a crime number allocation ser vice now.

“With the amount of people that have Ring doorbells and CCTV, the opportunities to solve burglaries has gone up Police officers are just obsessed with PC nonsense now instead.

"The more ordinar y you are, the less likely you are to get a good ser vice from the police if your house is burgled.”

Labour analysed the figures, which Shadow Home Secretar y, Yvette Cooper described as “disgraceful”. She said: “Theft and burglar y are awful crimes and should be properly investigated, not just left for the victims to make an insurance claim.

“The Home Secretar y has no plan to turn this around and is instead obsessed with gimmicks rather than a serious plan to catch more criminals.”

A recent report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary found cops were unable to effectively probe burglaries and theft due to a shortage of skilled staff and detectives.

What ’sApp fraud aler t

HUNDREDS of WhatsApp users are being targeted by crooks posing as Goldman Sachs employees as par t of a ploy to get them to invest in cr ypto schemes.

The fraudsters invite unsuspecting WhatsApp users to an online chat group in which they introduce themselves as executives of the Wall Street bank before telling group members they will “provide investment training strategies for free”.

“I hope Goldman Sachs can become your trusted brokerage scheme , ” one scam message reads

“As a global investment firm, we work together to create long-term value for our investors establishing a correct investment philosophy and ensuring you

can obtain stable and generous returns is the ability that ever y investor needs to have ”

The scammer then promises to “ provide a Bitcoin perpetual trading contract strateg y ” before directing users to a bogus cr ypto platform where they can deposit funds

Other users in the group, also suspected to be scammers, pledge to in-

vest into the cr ypto scheme , adding: “I have personally witnessed how Goldman Sachs can help you ”

In a statement a Goldman Sachs spokesperson said: “Unfor tunately this kind of fraud is increasingly common, and third par ties have been known to falsely claim to carr y out financial ser vices on behalf of Goldman Sachs and may use names of existing staff in attempting scams

“The security of our customers and prospective customers is extremely impor tant to us We fully investigate all claims of fraud and will take appropriate action as a result.”

Brits lost more than £600 million to fraud in the first half of 2022, according to data from UK Finance

More than 5000 people fell victim to investment scams over the period, losing a total £61 2 million, up almost 30% on 2020

Jenny Ross, Which? Money editor, said: “Fraudsters will use a wide range of tactics to ensnare victims such as fake WhatsApp messages posing as representatives of respected financial firms or friends and family claiming to have lost their phone .

“At a time when many people will be looking for alternative ways to make some extra money, investment schemes promising lucrative returns on relatively small investments may sound attractive but they are typically scams and should be treated with extreme caution

“Genuine companies will never ask for personal information, nor will they hurr y you into making a decision. If that happens, take time to think whether it’s too good to be true

“Anyone can also sign up to Which?’s Scam Aler t Ser vice to raise awareness of new scams. ”

WhatsApp owner Meta said it uses a combination of techniques to enforce its policies and prevent abuse

However, it warned WhatsApp protects personal messages and calls with end-to-end encr yption, meaning no one except the sender and recipient has access to those messages, not even WhatsApp.

PREGNANT THERANOS BOSS JAILED FOR 11 YEARS

DISGRACED Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been sentenced to more than 11 years in a US federal prison for conning investors and endangering patients while peddling a bogus bloodtesting technology.

The 38-year- old was convicted by a Californian jury on three counts of investor fraud and one count of conspiracy in January. She was jailed for 135 months. Prosecutors were also seeking $804m (£675m) in compensation from Holmes

The amount covers most of the nearly $1bn (£840m) she raised from a list of sophisticated investors that included software magnate Larry Ellison, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and the Walton family behind Walmart.

Prosecutors had branded Holmes' crimes " among the most substantial white collar offences Silicon Valley or any other district has seen "

The sentence imposed by US District Judge Edward Davila was shorter than the 15-year penalty requested by federal prosecutors, but far tougher than the leniency her legal team sought for the mother of a year- old son with another child on the way.

Worldwide crackdown on fraud

A WORLDWIDE crackdown on social engineering fraud has seen scammers identified globally, substantial criminal assets seized and new investigative leads triggered in ever y continent.

The two-month Operation saw 76 countries take par t in an international clampdown on the organized crime groups behind scams.

Police in par ticipating countries raided national call centres suspected of scamming fraud, telephone deception, romance scams, e-mail deception, and financial crime

Preliminary figures show: 1,770 locations raided worldwide 3,000 suspects identified 2,000 operators, fraudsters and money launderers arrested 4,000 bank accounts frozen $50m wor th of illicit funds seized

FIDDLING FINANCE BOSS

FORMER Hewlett Packard finance manager Shelbee Szeto has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to forfeit more than 250 luxur y items after she blew $5m on herself using company credit cards.

The list of stuff she bagged included a 2020 Tesla sedan, a 2021 Porsche spor t utility vehicle , 46 Chanel handbags, and 16 Rolex watches.

Szeto, 30, of Fremont, California, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, and related tax charges She worked for HP, first as an executive assistant and then as a finance planning manager, from August 2017 until June 2021, according to US prosecutors

CORRUPT COPS ARRESTED

A SPANISH-led police operation has takendown a network of corrupt officials – including police and customs officers across Europe who had been helping ship cocaine and hashish into Europe

Working with the suppor t of Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre , the Spanish Civil Guard and National Police , have dismantled a drugs trafficking network which allegedly relied on corrupt law enforcement and customs officers to ship hundreds of millions of euros ’ wor th of cocaine and hashish into Western Europe .

A total of 61 people were arrested in the operation including five officers from the Civil Guard, one from the National Police and one from customs, who were identified thanks to the collaboration with European law enforcement agencies

The arrests follow an 18-month long

investigation into two criminal gangs, known as ‘Clan de Tanger’ and ‘Clan del Sur’, who are believed to have smuggled over 16 tonnes of cocaine and 150 tonnes of hashish via the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain for fur ther distribution across Europe

WHAT A NICE LITTLE URNER

CIVIL Guard officers searching a home for drugs discovered more than a thousand ancient treasures dating back to the 12th and 18th centuries, with some even dating back to the Roman era.

The Civil Guard in the town of Guadassuar, located in the autonomous community of Valencia, were investigating an unnamed 68-year-old suspected drug dealer

But they also discovered priceless rare ceramics, potter y and other historical and archaeological ar tefacts

Police bodycam footage of the raid showed officers looking over rack after rack of antiquities, some dating back to the Roman era

Exper ts from Spain’s Municipal Museum of Alzira have taken charge of the treasures, which could be one of the biggest ever finds in the region

N O W I S T H E T I M E T O

B E O N Y O U R G U A R D

CONSUMERS are facing a barrage of misery from scammers who prey on people 365 days of the year, but the festive period is the criminals busiest time.

As well as the rush to buy presents we also have January sales and this is when criminals are at their cleverest

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is sounding the alarm about the latest wave of scams which could cause misery to consumers and their families ithroughout the festive period.

Scammers are always quick to jump on opportunities to exploit people’s vulnerability and this year, with people trying to cope with rising costs, anxieties over household bills and disruption to deliveries and supply chains, the potential for the unwary to fall foul of the fraudsters is greater than ever.

Of particular concern this Christmas is loan fee fraud, in which the victim pays a fee for a loan they never receive People in need of quick access to cash are particularly vulnerable to this type of scam, and according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)*, the average victim stands to lose £260.

With recent National Trading Standards (NTS) research showing that losing just £100 to fraudsters would push one in four adults in the UK into serious financial crisis**, the implications of these types of scam are serious and potentially life-changing Loan fee fraud scams have increased 21% compared with this period last year, according to the FCA

People concerned about their finances are also being targeted by scammers posing as representatives of HMRC.

Common tactics include recorded phone messages saying that the recipient’s National Insurance details have been compromised, or that they are about to be arrested for non-payment of tax

Consumers who receive these types of call are advised not to reply, and never to share any personal information over the phone If you are unsure whether a call or

email from HMRC is genuine, check the Government website here.

Another organisation which scammers frequently pose as representatives of is online shopping giant Amazon

In attempts to steal people’s personal details, scammers are sending texts, emails and recorded messages claiming that the recipient’s account has been hacked or that their subscription is due for renewal

Amazon users should only ever access its services via official channels such as the iPhone/Android app or the Amazon co uk website, and the retailer will never ask customers to give any payment information, including gift cards (or ‘verification cards’) for products or services over the phone

Online shoppers are also urged to be on the lookout for fake versions of legitimate websites. Scammers can clone sites

to look like those of retailers, banks or other organisations in order to steal financial details

Shoppers are advised to look for the padlock symbol next to the website’s URL, check that the website address begins with ‘https’ and check for subtle errors like replacing a zero with a letter in a URL.

It’s easy to check who owns a domain too by using sites such as Whois com Online reviews of websites and products should also be approached with caution, since they can easily be faked

Delivery scams are particularly prevalent at this time of year, with many of us ordering goods online as Christmas approaches

With disruption to the postal service and many people unsure when their mail is due to arrive, scammers are likely to capitalise with bogus texts and emails

Common scams include messages that a parcel is awaiting delivery and a fee is due to be paid, or that the recipient should log in to a website to schedule a delivery In most cases, the messages are merely a ruse to harvest people’s personal data

Katherine Hart, CTSI Lead Officer, said: “This year people are under a lot of financial pressure, and many will be thinking about ways of making their money stretch further this Christmas

“When people are under stress, they are particularly vulnerable to making decisions on the spur of the moment

“We would urge anyone who receives a phone call, email or text message that claims to be from a company or Government organisation take a breath, and consider whether or not it is genuine In many cases, these messages are just scams that could leave you out of pocket ”

For consumer advice, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.

Katherine Hart Beware