Below are the archived scams reported by Neighbourhood Watch:
This report is from January and concerns two chaps approaching an elderly disabled woman, who had parked in a disabled bay at TESCO in Broad Gn. They told her she had incurred a fine and they had a payment machine with them for her to make an immediate payment. On this occasion she got into her car and they told her they would cancel the fine.
Of course this was wholly untrue, but it may be there are folks targeting the more physically vulnerable with this scam. If this is the case, I imagine it will be widely unreported.
The following is a recounting of the incident from the victim:
' Wednesday a week ago, I had a phone call from someone saying that he was from some outfit called: "Express Couriers," (The name could be any courier company). He asked if I was going to be home because there was a package for me that required a signature.
The caller said that the delivery would arrive at my home in roughly an hour. Sure enough, about an hour later, a uniformed delivery man turned up with a beautiful basket of flowers and a bottle of wine. I was very surprised since there was no special occasion or holiday, and I certainly didn't expect anything like it. Intrigued, I inquired as to who the sender was.
The courier replied, "I don't know, I'm only delivering the package."
Apparently, a greeting card was being sent separately. (The card has never arrived!) There was also a consignment note with the gift.
He then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol,there was a $3.50 "delivery/ verification charge," providing proof that he had actually delivered the package to an adult (of legal drinking age), and not just left it on the doorstep where it could be stolen or taken by anyone, especially a minor.
This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said that the delivery company required payment to be by credit or debit card only, so that everything is properly accounted for, and this would help in keeping a legal record of the transaction.
He added, "Couriers don't carry cash to avoid loss or likely targets for robbery."
My husband, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled out his credit card, and the "delivery man," asked him to swipe the card on a small mobile card machine with a small screen and keypad. Frank, my husband, was asked to enter his PIN number and a receipt was printed out. He was given a copy of the transaction.
The guy said everything was in order, and wished us good day.
To our horrible surprise, betweenThursday and the following Monday, $4,000 had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM machines.
Apparently the "mobile credit card machine," which the deliveryman carried now had all the info necessary to create a "dummy" card with all our card details including the PIN number.
Upon finding out about the illegal transactions on our card, we immediately notified the bank which issued us a new card, and our credit/debit account was closed.
We also personally went to the police, where it was confirmed that it is definitely a scam because several households had been similarly hit.
WARNING: Be wary of accepting any "surprise gift or package," which you neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves any kind of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package. Also, never accept anything If you do not personally know or there is no proper identification of who the sender is.
Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card information is when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!
A new HMRC scam has emerged. Fraudsters are targeting households, pretending to be from HMRC and threatening legal action unless you call back.
We explain how the scam works, and we’ve been able to attain two voicemails left by fraudsters.
We have plenty of advice on phone scams, so please make sure you don't get caught out. Listen to what a scam call sounds like.
A male is knocking on doors asking to borrow £20 saying his grandmother is ill he states he has phoned for an ambulance, but says he has parked his car down the road and has lost his keys aged in his 40s. Please be aware.
Watch out for a light gold Saab car. It has been reported that builders' vans have been broken into and a number of tools stolen.
I have recently been a victim of fraud locally. On Friday 22nd February I was parking my car on the drive and noticed a man delivering leaflets. Instead of putting the leaflet through the letterbox he approached me and said that were tree surgeons and landscapers which the leaflet confirmed. As I needed my decking replaced I asked them to give me a quote which I VERY foolishly accepted as they could start immediately, They promptly took the money for the materials electronically cleverly refusing cash, and immediately removed the old decking leaving area in a mess. They seemed very professional to me recommending plastic decking and a damp course injection into the house side of the decking. I think they even had a gardening type vehicle parked opposite my house. They maintained they would be back on Monday to assemble the sub frame and return on Wednesday to complete the job after the concrete had set . Needless to say on Monday they phoned to say they couldn't do the job as they were having problems with obtaining materials and that they would start on Wednesday or Friday at the latest. By Thursday I was becoming suspicious and decided to go to the address they had given me in Sidcup. Not a surprise by now to discover it was a plumbing company and that the address had been used locally by criminals delivering leaflets offering services and taking money and not doing the work.
Reports of a female, sometimes with a baby, knocking on doors late at night and asking for money for a cab to get her husband to hospital as he has been involved in an accident. Report from West Wickham Police. Word is that she is a blonde. Similar has been around for a number of years now in the Shirley area but was a dark haired woman. Needless to say this is a SCAM and do not fall for it. Contact Police if this happens to you.