Good Morning All,
I have listed below 4 of the most relevant alerts this week that I wanted to make you all aware of. One relates to TV licence scams and 2 others relating to HMRC scams, which have been in the increase again. The fourth relates to a bereavement scam and although I have not heard of this so far in Kent, I wanted to make you aware that it is happening elsewhere.
Alert 1 - PHISHING EMAIL TV LICENSING
The emails purporting to be from TV Licensing claim that the recipient's direct debit has failed and that they need to pay to avoid prosecution. Recipients are told that they are eligible for a "COVID19 Personalized Offer" of six months free. The messages contain links to genuine-looking websites that are designed to steal personal and financial information.
Alert 2 HMRC Phishing Email
CIFAS (the UK’s leading fraud prevention organisation) are warning of a new HMRC scam. This scam appears to be specifically targeting people who are out of work or working less due to coronavirus, and is offering £1,000s in grants. The recipient is told to click on a link to check their eligibility, and answer questions that are designed to steal personal information. CIFAS are stating that this scam comes from the email address “HMRC@hotmail.com”, but as new frauds spring up every day, this could change.
Alert 3 – HMRC Phishing Email
The below is another HMRC phishing that was recently received by a resident in Kent. As you can see the email address that this was sent from was not an official GOV.UK email address.
Alert 4 – Bereavement scams – From CIFAS
Although I am not aware of this in Kent, CIFAS have stated that elsewhere around the country, fraudsters are targeting families organising funerals for loved ones by contacting them and purporting to be from their local authority's bereavement services team and asking them for credit card details to pay their funeral director. These criminals are then putting families under pressure by telling them that the funeral will be cancelled if they don't pay immediately. As a result, a number of councils put out urgent warnings this week on their social media channels warning about the threat.
Anyone receiving this type of call should hang up immediately and report the incident to Action Fraud.
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Please remember the following advice -
Take Five -
Stop -Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.
Challenge -Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
Protect - Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.
And use our own A, B, C of scam awareness:
A- Never Assume a caller, email or text is genuine.
B- Never Believe a caller, email or text is genuine.
C- Always Confirm by contacting a trusted number, family member, friend, your bank’s fraud department or the police to check if it’s genuine.
Report scams at www.actionfraud.police.uk
Phishing emails can be forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk
Kind Regards,
PSE 59753 Adam Sackett
Volunteer & Neighbourhood Watch Liaison Officer
East Kent Police
Police Station, Fort Hill, Margate, Kent, CT9 1HL
Telephone: 07980683802
Email : adam.sackett@kent.police.uk
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