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Neighbourhood
Watch July - Sept.2004
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MOBILE POLICE STATION’S NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH NEWSLETTER Monday 4th October 2004 – Friday 15th October 2004 Rural
Police Unit
BeatMobile Visits The next Beatmobile visits to Theydon
Bois are on IDENTITY THEFT – BIN DIPPING Everyday rubbish can offer a wealth of information and a recent survey suggested that the theft of your identity is the fastest growing crime in Britain. A thief who gets hold of your details can take over your bank account. Thanks to the growth in telephone and internet shopping the thief only needs to know your credit/debit card details and judging by the number of you who speak to me about Scams it may well be you who gives these details away. These Scams are very good and a typical call from a person stating he is from the security department at Visa is well thought out and very reassuring. REMEMBER: - Do not part with Pin Numbers or any other personal details, you phone the company back and check from the telephone number on your last statement. Financial institutions should never cold-call you. Burn or shred credit card statements and anything with your personal details on. Give me a call if you are unsure. CYCLE HELMETS Dc MICHEAL PAGE
Whilst on the subject of ‘Books’; the ‘Great Injustice’ saga came to an end recently. For those of you who had been plagued by Stephen Millwards letters; this was not his real name but simply a pen name for his book which is now on the market. Yes, I agree that it is a strange way of doing business, the stamps paper etc must be worth as much as the cost of the book, £3.00, but as he explained to me, he has done nothing illegal!! CAR PARKING
Look around your vehicle on your return. Check your vehicle before moving off. It is becoming a growing trend for car thieves to attach a cloth, ribbon to the rear windscreen, or tie a can to your bumper. The idea is that you start the car, drive out of your parking slot and then are forced to stop to remove this item. That is when they strike. The door is open, the keys are in ignition and the engine is running. Good bye car and anything that is in it!! Be warned.
Chris Caten and Allan Perrett CRIMESTOPPERS 0800 555 111 MOBILE POLICE STATION’S NEIGHBOURHOOD
WATCH NEWSLETTER Rural
Police Unit
BeatMobile Visits The next Beatmobile visits to Theydon
Bois are on CHRISTMAS IS COMING Summer holidays are over for most of you and the next big event is Christmas. During the period leading up to Christmas many of you will be travelling up to London to shop and enjoy a show in the evening. You need to consider a few welfare issues before you enjoy the remaining 100 odd shopping day left!!
Many of you got caught out by pickpockets during the last few years. The Metropolitan Police have tackled this problem well but this crime is still a problem. Hole in the Wall machines were the main problem. A few years ago, youngsters were making at least £1,000 a day from either having your wallet or from obtaining your pin number and empting your account. If your number was obtained whilst you were using the machine a white chalk mark was placed on your back identifying you in order that your cards were worth having.
You need to think your security though – consider using a safe ‘machine’ at home before going to London. I know you will be carrying cash but this could be safer as long as you don’t flash it about. By now, you should all be checking the machine’s ‘Card Slot’ to make sure that a false one has not been installed. There should be two of you present if you have to use one of these machines. The second person should be watchful, protecting your back and making sure nobody is standing close by; i.e. It has been known for youngsters to be pressing the same buttons on their mobile phones as those used by you to enter Pin Numbers.
If you do get caught out and lose your cards, purse or wallet then cancelling your cards is important. For many years now I have used a company who will insure you against this and hold your card details. I keep their phone number separate from my wallet and it is also installed in my mobile phone’s memory. One call and everything is cancelled. I used it once whilst in York when I was unsure why a machine had decided to gobble up my card. It worked very well.
If you travel up to London by car then keep your handbag out of view and the doors locked. You would not believe the number of people who keep their handbag placed on the one of the seats. If you stop, at Traffic Lights for example, then it is so easy for someone to open the car door and have your bag away. A handbag carries your life in it!! Everything is in it and those of you who have lost it before know how serious it is and the problems it causes.
The other problem you need to consider is the possibility of your ‘Card’ being copied/cloned. It is best not to let it out of your sight. It only takes seconds to copy a card but it takes months to sort out afterwards. Use cash if you can.
You must also consider what to do if you find an extra ‘attachment’ on A Hole in the Wall Machine. The people who placed it there will be close by, this equipment is expensive and they will not like to lose it. You may find it easier to walk away and phone the police. It is safer than confrontation.
CRIMESTOPPERS 0800 555 111
MOBILE POLICE STATION’S NEIGHBOURHOOD
WATCH NEWSLETTER SELLING ON THE INTERNET It is very difficult to give out advice on Scams and Bogus Officials because 99.9% of you are far to intelligent to get caught out but it only takes one newsletter reader to get caught and the scam or call has been worth the effort. I must drive you mad with advice over Scams and Bogus Officials and in turn I know you drive neighbours and family mad with this advice. Keep it up because people still get caught out.
Recently a young lady advertised her motor vehicle on the net, she reached agreement with a buyer quickly and the cheque arrived in the post. The problems then started because the cheque had been written out far in excess of the stated price of the vehicle. (I.e. Sale price was £500 and cheque value £1,200). The seller made contact with the buyer who stated it was a mistake and that she should cash the cheque and return the extra cash on one of her cheques. Two more cheques followed for large amounts of money requesting the same proceedure. The cheques looked good; one was from a Building Society and another from The Citizen’s Advice Bureau. Two or three different types of scams jump to mind here but the main point I need to make here is that you do not send the buyer a cheque from your account. I now know that this Scam is on the increase so please beware. If you need help then please call me or Trading Standards. You may find that the caller or cheques have a connection with Holland, Spain or Nigeria.
PROPERTY Recently, the policy controlling Lost and Found Property has changed. Reports of lost property to generate a police reference number for Insurance have been stopped. It is felt that our involvement does not validate an insurance claim. Insurance companies have been made aware of this. Reports of lost property outside of Essex Police area will not be taken – this must go through the police area it was lost in. There are many more changes so be prepared if you attend a police station with found property. If you find , for example, a ten pound note or a watch in the street, you will simply telephone a local station, where it will be logged, but you will not take the found item in, we will contact you if we find a loser, and in 21 days provided there is no loser, it is yours. This change will improve our service to you.
ADDRESS TO PREVENT JUNK MAIL AND TELEPHONE CALLS So many of you have requested this information:- 1. Mailing Preference Service, Freepost 22, London W1E 7EZ. Telephone 0845 703 4599 www/mpsonline.org.uk 2. Telephone Preference Service, DMA House, 70 Margaret Street, London W1W 8SS. Telephone 0845 070 0707 www/tpsonline.org.uk
CREEPER BURGLARIES Due to the recent heat many of you have been leaving your doors and windows open. This was like an early ‘Christmas’ for the burglar and Tony Ellis, our Crime Reduction Officer, has made me aware that in Epping alone there were seven cases in two weeks where the burglar entered open properties and stole jewellery, electrical goods, cash and credit cards. Please do not get caught out. Don’t make it easy for them. CRIMESTOPPERS 0800 555 111 MOBILE POLICE STATION’S NEIGHBOURHOOD
WATCH NEWSLETTER Rural
Police Unit
BeatMobile Visits The Beatmobile visits to Theydon Bois
are on (Monday 23rd August 2004 – Friday 3rd September
2004) I am back!! Recovery from my hospital operation took rather longer than I expected, the older one gets the longer these things take. I must also thank you all for the Get Well Wishes, they were all very much appreciated!! I have to thank Allan and Sue for keeping the Epping and Ongar schedule going and I hope my absence has not caused any problems!!
If you have any outstanding issues that we have either forgotten about or that have not been dealt with then please get in touch with us.
For your enjoyment - Very recently I paid a visit to Chichester Chilli Festival. This annual event took place just outside Chichester at West Dean Gardens. If you like Chillies then this is the show to see. Food, samples, displays, anything to do with Chillies, really good fun. It also has a web page which includes next years show plus this year’s next show (11th & 12th Sept) which is a Tomato Show. Everything to do with Tomatoes will be available!!
VENUE CHANGES As from Monday 6th September there will be a few venue changes. We will be calling at Stapleford Abbotts, Abbess Roding and Thornwood and there will be changes to the times we call at North Weald, Abridge, Fyfield and Upshire. Please check your dates and times on the rear of this newsletter.
NAZEING If you live at Nazeing then you will be aware that we have now moved to the Senior Citizen complex in Hyde Mead. The main reason for the move is simply to have more contact with these types of areas. Bogus Callers are a problem for Senior Citizens and we can offer more help by regular visits with a more High Visible presence. See you all at our new site!!
GREAT INJUSTICE by STEPHEN MILLWARD We would like to hear from you if you have received letters through the post on the above subject. The contents are typed out on A4 paper, folded and placed in a brown envelope. There are a number of Chapters to the story and you will have received a number of letters on this subject. The author is anonymous and starts his story in the 1930s with a Percy Chapman.
For those of you requesting the Trading Standard’s ‘We’re Not Buying It’ Window Stickers, We now have a new supply. Please, just call in to see us to collect your own!! CRIMESTOPPERS 0800 555 111
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Last Up Dated: 28th September 2004