The sheer amount online fraud and street robberies going on leaves the police struggling to cope. A partial solution is to help prevent people from becoming the victims of crime. Some useful recent advice is included in this article.
Details of a leaked Home Office report in the Sunday Times blames Britain’s violent crimewave on:
- Increased amounts of cocaine flooding into the country due to a bumper crop in Columbia.
- The damage caused by taking 21,000 police officers off Britain’s streets.
- A policy of handing out community sentences to young offenders instead of sending them to jail.
Car Seized in Bow
It’s not all bad news though, we recently received the report below:
“On Sunday 03rd June 2018 officers from Bow and Mile End, whilst on foot patrol, checked a vehicle parked up on the street and found drugs and weapons inside. This vehicle had been reported by residents as causing problems on the estate for a number of months but could not be located. It has now been seized and all the drugs and weapons taken.
‘Furthermore whilst offices were seizing the vehicle they spotted two males which they previously had seen driving it and decided to stop them. They were both then arrested. Thank you to residents for reporting suspicious behaviour on your ward. It goes to show that with some very observant officers your information is key to tackling crime on our wards. Eyes and Ears!”
Cash Machine Crime
Our local Neighbourhood Watch have just sent us this:
People are targeted at cash machines by criminals who distract users and steal their card or cash. Fraudsters also fit devices to the machines that trap bank cards, copy the card details and record the PIN number. You must be vigilant when taking money out of a cash machine. Don’t let anyone distract you!
Top tips to reduce the chances of being a victim of cash machine crime –
Choosing a cash machine:
- Be alert and put your personal safety first
- If there is anything unusual about the cash machine or if there are signs of tampering, do not use it and report it to the bank as soon as possible.
Using a cash machine:
- If someone is behaving suspiciously or watching you, cancel the transaction and go to another machine
- Don’t get distracted. Be particularly cautious if ‘well-meaning’ strangers try to distract you or offer to help you
- Shield your PIN. Stand close to the cash machine and always use your free hand to shield the keypad to prevent any prying eyes or hidden cameras seeing your PIN.
Leaving a cash machine:
- On completing a transaction, discreetly put your money and card away before leaving a cash machine
- Report incidents promptly. Make sure you have your bank’s phone number stored in your mobile. If your card is retained by the cash machine or your money is not dispensed, report the incident to your bank immediately, ideally using your mobile phone while you are still at the machine
- Destroy or preferably shred your cash machine receipt, mini-statement or balance enquiry when you dispose of them.
Cyberfraud
An article in the Times on 19th May claimed that police are not investigating online thefts of less than £100,000. Physical thefts are reported to local police, but online fraud and cybercrime are referred to Action Fraud which uses a computer to sift out cases not to investigate. The article says that victims are having their savings wiped out by sophisticated scams. They “…are being failed by a flawed system which is ill-equipped to cope…”
We are all going to have to look after ourselves, and older relatives and friends. A previous article here gave some useful advice from the police.