Community Information
I will keep these notes short and to the point as I am sure you have far more uplifting and jovial articles to be reading at this time of year.
However, I need to bring to your attention a fraud scam that is being practised in the area at present. These scams are being carried out in two different ways. Firstly Individuals are being contacted by phone by a person claiming to be from their bank, they actually state the person's name and bank where they hold their current account. They then go on to claim that there is a problem with the bank debit card and that a new one will have to be issued, however, to do this they request the details of the bank card. If this is successful funds are fraudulently diverted from the account. The other method is very similar but instead of obtaining the bank details over the phone they offer to send a courier round to the individual's address to uplift the old bank card and at the same time deliver a new one. The new card appears quite valid but is completely useless. You may wonder what people are doing giving their bank details over the phone but these fraudsters are very professional at what they do and appear extremely plausible. They tend to choose older members of the community who they perceive to be more trusting and not so 'switched on' to modern banking methods. Please DO NOT under any circumstances, give your bank details to any cold callers.
Another mini crime wave, which has coincided with a certain person being released from HMP, involves the theft of quad bikes, diesel fuel and theft of power tools from sheds etc. Those responsible have been targeted and disrupted at every oppurtunity by police and this has resulted in their arrest, vehicles they use being seized and stolen property recovered, however, frustratingly due to our great criminal justice system these persons are out on bail and surprise, surprise the thefts continue Please ensure you have applied as many crime prevention measures as possible to your property. If you need any assistance or advice your Local Police Team will be happy to help, this maybe a time to consider joining Rural Watch?
Having said all this please do not worry unduly, we are still all fortunate to live in a very safe and low crime area and long may it continue!
Pete
PC 3078 DALE
LPO
Oswestry Rural South
Tel. 0300 333 3000