31 January 2016

Thames Valley Police Alert - Recovery Room Fraud

Thames Valley Police Alert - Recovery Room Fraud


The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) is warning people of the dangers of Recovery Room fraudsters targeting former victims of fraud.

Recovery Room Fraud refers to a scam whereby fraudsters contact the victims of previous frauds, often by way of cold calling them, and claim to be able to recover previously lost funds. In July 2014 the Financial Services Authority (FSA) estimated that 30% of people who had lost money through Investment fraud would also fall victim to a Recovery Room fraud.

When Recovery Room fraudsters target victims of timeshare frauds they usually claim to be a legal professional or a representative of a government agency (normally within the country where the original timeshare property was based) in order to legitimise the scam. The fraudsters know personal details about the victim and their previous investment which gives them credibility. They claim that the advanced fees requested are for 'local taxes' or 'litigation costs' incurred during the recovery of the funds. It is suspected that the persons behind Recovery Room frauds are often the same people involved in the original scams even though these crimes may have occurred years earlier.

Initially, a small fee, typically in the region of £200-400, is requested by the fraudsters which they often claim is refundable as part of a 'no-win no-fee' basis.  The fraudsters rely on the victims seeing this as a nominal fee compared to the amounts lost, which often run into the tens-of-thousands of pounds, and therefore worth paying if it facilitates the return of their money. Once paid, various excuses are made by the fraudsters to explain delays in the recovery of the funds.  Subsequently, further larger amounts are then requested by the fraudsters.  Needless to say, no refunds ever materialise and no money is ever recovered.
 
Protect Yourself
 

  • Never respond to unsolicited phone calls – if in doubt, hang up.
  • Always check that the details of the organisation or company contacting you (such as website, address and phone number) are correct – the fraudsters may be masquerading as a legitimate organisation.
  • Don't be fooled by a professional looking website as nowadays the cost of creating a professional website is easily affordable.
  • Be wary of any firms or individuals asking for advanced fees.
  • Consider seeking independent legal and/or financial advice before making a decision.

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone: 0300 123 2040
 

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28 January 2016

White Horse Garden Club

White Horse Garden Club


The first meeting of 2016 of the White Horse Garden Club will be on THURSDAY 4TH FEBRUARY AT 7.30PM,  IN THOMAS HUGHES MEMORIAL HALL, UFFINGTON, SN7 7RA

TALK:  GARDENS OF THE COTSWOLD WILDLIFE PARK

BY: Tim Miles, Head Gardener for 17 years. This will be a talk about pushing back the boundaries of plant hardiness and planting for exotic effect.

Members £10 per year.  Visitors £2.50.  Raffle £1.
Please do come along and bring your friends, neighbours and relatives. Membership cards for 2016 available at this meeting - JOIN US.

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26 January 2016

The Betfair Lambourn Open Day 2016

The Betfair Lambourn Open Day 2016

For the diary!

The Betfair Lambourn Open Day will take place on Good Friday 25th March, 2016. A poster is attached here:

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/LOD_2016_Poster.pdf
 

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Mothering Sunday Carvery Lunch - 6 March

Mothering Sunday Carvery Lunch - 6 March

The next Carvery Lunch organised by the Friends of Saint Mary's Church will be held on Sunday March 6th, in The Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall, at 12.30 for 13.00 prompt.  This will be a great opportunity to celebrate Mothering Sunday!

Price £12.00, and a licenced bar will be available.  Early booking essential!

Contact Geoff 01367 820668 or Ray 01367 820242.

 

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Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall - Chairman

Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall - Chairman

After many years of service to the village hall Paul Armishaw has now stepped down as Chairman of the Management Committee & Hall Council. All of the Hall users and committee would like to thank Paul for his many years of service both as Chairman and on the Committee before that.

 

As a result the Hall Management Committee are seeking a new person to head up the committee and chair the meetings.

 

If anyone knows someone who could be interested and would like more information regarding the role please contact us.

 

John Boaler

Hall Committee

Tel: 01367 821016

Email: jboaler@gmail.com

 

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23 January 2016

Income generation - flat rate charge for bus passess

Income generation - flat rate charge for bus passess

Our County Councillor Yvonne Constance is working hard to try to save some of the rural bus routes (including the 67) which are threatened by the likely removal of subsidies by Oxford County Council.

 

Yvonne is seeking to build support to get Government to permit Councils to make a flat-rate charge for old age bus passes to those pensioners who can afford to pay. 

 

If we can establish how to identify those who cannot afford to pay (those in receipt of Benefits might be one way) and got agreement to charge say £30 (as for a Senior Rail Pass) we would raise £1million towards rural buses from every 35,000 paying pensioners.  This would help to keep some buses running.

 

BBC South is interested in the idea and have interviewed Yvonne for BBC South Sunday Politics. She thinks  it will be screened tomorrow, Sunday, so would anybody interested in the idea watch it and see if they are persuaded.

 

Comments to Yvonne at: yvonneconstance@tiscali.co.uk

 

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22 January 2016

Catherine Aldridge

Catherine Aldridge


Catherine is standing down from her roles as the Deputy Clerk and Project Officer for the Parish Council at the end of the month.
 
As Deputy Clerk she has acted as Secretary of the various Committees and Trusts associated with the Tom Brown's School Room, the Museum, and the Jubilee Field.  As Project Officer, she has handled a number of projects for the Parish Council, including recently the footbridge onto the Jubilee Field and the pedestrian signage on the Village Hall / Shop car park.
 
The current and previous Parish Councils are extremely grateful to Catherine for everything she has done for the village in these roles, and would like to wish her and her family the very best of luck in the future.
 

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Thames Valley Police Alerts

Thames Valley Police Alerts

Phishing/Scamming campaign
Our Force is supporting a campaign being launched this week to encourage people to be aware of scams based around social engineering. Independent expert advice service Get Safe Online is running the campaign following a 21% rise nationally last year in reported incidents of social engineering - otherwise known as phishing - scams.

Social engineering is a targeted scam where fraudsters manipulate their victims into sharing confidential information. This may happen via email, telephone calls, text messages or via post.

Get Safe Online has developed TV advertising, national and local advertising, as part of its campaign. Leaflets, posters and information is being shared across the Thames Valley region, along with messages via social media. 

To find out more social engineering and get advice on protecting yourself from fraudsters, see the Get Safe Online website.


If you are a victim of fraud, you can report it to Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud reporting centre, by calling 0300 123 20 40 or by visiting the Action Fraud website.

If you have been a victim of banking fraud or spot irregular activity on your account, contact your bank immediately as there will be more chance that your losses may be recovered.

Cyber Crime Survey - Deadline 31 January
 

The deadline for the South East Cyber Crime Survey is 31 January - don't miss out on your chance to have a say.

The results of the survey will help our Force to gain a better understanding of how cyber crime is affecting local communities and businesses, and support us in our continuing development of means to tackle online crime.

Thank you to everyone who has already taken part - we appreciate your support.

It should only take a few minutes to complete the survey and it is open to anyone over the age of 18, whether or not you have been a victim of cyber crime, and one lucky participant will win £100 of Amazon vouchers.

To complete the survey, please see the Surrey PCC website.


 

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