update from the Kent Police Liaison Officer

Tonight DS Marc Cananur from the Kent Police Squad Fraud will feature at 7.30 PM on ITV Tonight’s Programme, when he will be raising awareness as to scams and what Kent Police are doing are doing to prevent fraudsters from targeting our elderly population.

Kind regards

Laura

www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk

Stop -Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.

Challenge -Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.

Protect - Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.

‘Tell2, protect many’ is a communication initiative that empowers you to connect nationally consistent messaging to others in your life, who otherwise may never know. Start with ‘tell2’ and ask them to do the same. An unbroken chain of 26 tell2’ers would reach 67 million people. It starts with YOU!

Update from the Community Liaison Officer - Mental Health awareness and more information on Scams

An update from Laura Vince, the Community Liaison Officer

Good morning,

I hope that you are all staying safe and well,

Please see below some information on Mental Health and an update on Scams:

Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 (MHAW) runs from 18 to 24 May.

We are adjusting to a different way of life, with children off school, many people not working or working from home, as well as not seeing family, friends and colleagues.

This anxiety is natural, and we are all feeling it. Fortunately, there are things that we can do to protect our mental health and to support the wellbeing of our friends and family. Please visit Kent County Council Website for Information and further links,

https://www.kent.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/health/coronavirus/looking-after-your-mental-health-and-wellbeing

• 10 tips to help if you're worried about coronavirus
• Looking after children and young people
• 7 simple ideas to tackle working from home
• Mental wellbeing while staying at home
• A free Mind Plan with top tips and advice for you.

Scams

Courier fraudsters are still active in the county.

Calls where the fraudster impersonated Police claiming to be either a DC or PC Matthews from the Met Police. On each call he asked about the victims bank cards and on one of the calls stated that someone had been arrested. On both calls they were asked to ring 999.

Fraudsters will keep the call/Line open and not disconnect the call, so that when you then ring 999, you are actually still speaking to them. If you ever get a call and decide to check if an officer is genuine, always ring 101 using an alternative telephone or if you need to use the same phone, then wait 10 minutes and call a friend or family member to ensure that the line has been cleared.

However, it is suggest that if you get a call like this simply disconnect the call immediately and then contact the Police via calling 101 to report the incident.

Remember:

    Your bank will never send a courier to your home

    Your bank and the police will never collect your bank card

    Your bank and the police will never ask for your PIN

    If you receive one of these calls, end it immediately

Please Take Five -

Stop -Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.

Challenge -Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.

Protect - Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.

And use our own A, B, C of scam awareness:

A-  Never Assume a caller, email or text is genuine.

B-   Never Believe a caller, email or text is genuine.

C-   Always Confirm by contacting a trusted number, family member, friend, your bank’s fraud department or the police to check if it’s genuine.

Report scams at www.actionfraud.police.uk

More information regarding Scams can be found at  https://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/consumer-protection/scams

Stay safe,

Kind regards

Laura

Laura Vince

Community Liaison Officer

Sevenoaks District

Office (: 01322 422531

Internal (: 02 4431

Mobile : 07772 226027

laura.vince@kent.police.uk

Police, Council and Partners

working together for a safer

Sevenoaks District

www.twitter.com/Kentpolice7oaks

Sevenoaks District Seniors Action Forum update

The latest update from Sevenoaks District Seniors Action Forum is here, with useful advice and links, including information about Go Coaches bookable transport service for essential journeys.

https://www.sdsaf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SDSAFNewsletter39April20.pdf

More scam warnings

More scam warnings from Laura Vince, our Community Liaison Officer from Kent Police.

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Good afternoon,

I hope that you are all staying safe and well.

I have been sent some leaflets from Victim Support that may be of use to you or your community contacts.

Please feel free to pass on any of the attached.

An on line Scam to be aware of is:

Click on the pictures below to make them bigger or print them out.

Please remember, should you or anyone you know require any assistance due to isolating or not being able to get out, please contact Sevenoaks District Council via their website or on  01732 227000.  

Hope you have a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend,

Stay in and Stay safe.

Kind regards

Laura

Laura Vince

Community Liaison Officer

Sevenoaks District

Office (: 01322 422531

Internal (: 02 4431

Mobile : 07772 226027

laura.vince@kent.police.uk

Scam information

A message from Laura Vince, Kent Police Community Liaison Officer.

I hope that you are all staying safe.

I am trying to stay in contact with members of our community, to pass on any information and advice. Please do pass this message on or let me know of any support groups you think may benefit from this. 

Information about requesting help from the Council and offering help.

Latest Scam information

There is information on the Gov.uk website for information on staying safe in other languages. Should you have any difficulties in finding these, please do let me know.

Can I remind you of ABC message as follows:

Use the ABC of scam awareness:

A-      Never assume a caller, email or text is genuine.

B-       Never believe a caller, email or text is genuine.

C-      Always confirm by contacting a trusted number, family member, friend, your bank’s fraud department or the police to check if it’s genuine.

A downloadable guide to avoiding scams.

A guide to phone scams

Stay safe,

Kind regards

Laura

Laura Vince

Community Liaison Officer

Sevenoaks District

A word of warning about keeping safe from scammers during the coronavirus pandemic

Not wishing to scaremonger, but this is an official email, so please watch out for the more vulnerable members of our community who may fall prey to such outrageous behaviour at this time. 

Many thanks,

Marion.

Afternoon All, 

Please check out the latest messages and advice from Neighbourhood watch in response to Covid 19 here:https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/news/NW_national-news/covid-19

Covid 19 Scam Prevention Advice

Scammers and criminals are already looking for opportunities to scam people as a result of the Coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic. Happily, there are many more stories of kindness and generosity but we want to make people aware of the scams as they emerge – which they seem to be on a daily basis.

There have been reports received by Kent Police of people door-knocking and claiming to be from the Health Authority.

What happens:

• The criminal knocks on your door.
• They claim to be from the Health Authority.
• They offer to do COVID-19 testing on residents.
• There are also reports of the criminal offering to take the residents temperature.

THIS IS A SCAM!

What to do: 

• Do not let them in.
• Do not allow them to take any money or details from you.
• Report to Kent Police on 101.
• If you ask them to leave and they don't, contact the police on 999.

Please warn vulnerable family members, friends and neighbours.

Report
There has been a report of an elderly Kent resident who lost money when they gave their bank card to someone who offered to do some shopping for them. They received one of these cards through their door and an individual offered to help, however, they actually stole money from the resident and were not seen again.

Payment
Don’t ever give your bank or card details to anyone, even if you think you know them very well.  You could either agree to pay in cash after they have delivered the shopping or pay them online if you have the facility to do so. Or maybe you could agree another method of payment - but never give your bank or card details. 

Contacts If you are self-isolating, you could contact one of these organisations for help and support: Age UK  0800 678 1602 Asthma UK  0300 222 5800 BHF 0300 330 3311 Diabetes UK  0345 123 2399 Mind  0300 123 3393 Scope  0808 800 3333 The Silver Line 0800 470 8090

For advice and to report issues to KCC Trading Standards contact
Citizens Advice consumer helpline on0808 223 1133
Consumer Advice scams action line  on 0808 250 5050
Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Please remember you can also contact me should you need any further advice or help,

Kind regards,

PSE 59753 Adam Sackett

Volunteer & Neighbourhood Watch Liaison Officer

East Kent Police

Police Station, Fort Hill, Margate, Kent, CT9 1HL

Telephone: 07980683802

Email : adam.sackett@kent.police.uk

Do you need help?

DO YOU  NEED HELP during the coronavirus epidemic?

Ring the church on
07510 522292 or email sealpandp@gmail.com
 and we will do what we can to respond.
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DO YOU WANT TO OFFER HELP?

The best thing you can do is to make contact (via a card popped through the door) with your immediate neighbours and those in the networks you already have. For safeguarding reasons we can't use volunteers who are unknown to us, because it involves work with with vulnerable adults, but in any case the most effective way to respond to the needs of this crisis are the hyperlocal ones, as we each help those around us, and let them help us!