Police Scotland - Business Advice
Police Scotland have issued a "Business Watch Bulletin" for information
In these uncertain times, Neighbourhood Alert is recognised as a trusted source of information. Please consider taking a moment to sign-up for Neighbourhood Alert e-mail messages, and encourage family, friends and neighbours to do the same. Over 23,000 people across Scotland have joined so far, with more joining every day. You can join too, without setting up a Neighbourhood Watch.
Simply visit www.neighbourhoodwatchscotland.co.uk
Theft of Golf Clubs
Police Scotland are advising golfers not to leave their clubs unattended following a number of thefts from outside golf clubs in the North East. Pro Shops at Golf Clubs are also being advised to review their security as a result of these incidents.
For up-to-date information on scams and cyber-related crimes and crime prevention tips, check out the following monthly bulletin: https://cyberscotlandweek.com/news
or sign up to receive updates at https://scot.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=95521127d4a8eebda241ca1b6&id=243ff3773b
CRIMESTOPPERS - https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ Tel. 0800 555 111
Crime Reduction Unit, North East Division, Police Scotland, 230 Abbotswell Crescent, Aberdeen, AB12 3JT
Email: NorthEastCrimeReduction@scotland.pnn.police.uk
Website: www.scotland.police.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/NorthEPolice
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NorthEastPoliceDivision
Police Scotland's North East Division covers rural and urban areas in Moray, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City. The division has five territorial command areas which have their own dedicated Area Commander, who is responsible for the daily policing function. Each command area is served by a number of community policing teams whose activities are built around the needs of the local community. These teams respond to local calls and look for long term solutions to key issues. They are assisted by the division's Crime Reduction Unit who deliver against Force and local priorities in a number of areas, including physical and social crime prevention, supporting and enhancing community engagement and creating and sustaining strong and effective partnership working.
Sign Up for Neighbourhood Alert for free
A great way in which Police can share information is via the Neighbourhood Alert system, which is delivered by Neighbourhood Watch Scotland. This enables us to send out e-mail messages relating to local crime trends and share crime prevention advice quickly and effectively to a wide audience. The information can also be targeted to particular groups, streets, or communities as required. 
Anyone can sign-up to receive these e-mail messages, either individually or as a community group. The sign-up process allows you to specify the type of information you are interested in and from what source. This is co-ordinated by our partners in Neighbourhood Watch Scotland, who work with a range of partners in the public sector to provide information not only on crime, but also about community safety and resilience. We only send out messages which contribute to keeping you informed and safe.
In these uncertain times, Neighbourhood Alert is recognised as a trusted source of information. Please consider taking a moment to sign-up for Neighbourhood Alert e-mail messages, and encourage family, friends and neighbours to do the same. Over 23,000 people across Scotland have joined so far, with more joining every day. You can join too, without setting up a Neighbourhood Watch.
Simply visit www.neighbourhoodwatchscotland.co.uk
HMICS Inspection - Policing Response to Hate Crime
Please find below a link to a HMIC online inspection survey seeking the views of individuals, groups and communities regards the policing response(s) in relation to 'Hate Crime'. The survey was scheduled for earlier this year, however due to circumstances out with their control HMIC delayed the survey.
https://www.hmics.scot/news/hmics-seeks-your-views-police-investigation-hate-crime
Please note the survey has now been re-circulated and the closing date has now been extended to 12 noon on Friday 30 October 2020.
It would be greatly appreciated if you could share this link with your networks to gather further information on behalf of HMIC.
Please find below a link to a HMIC online inspection survey seeking the views of individuals, groups and communities regards the policing response(s) in relation to 'Hate Crime'. The survey was scheduled for earlier this year, however due to circumstances out with their control HMIC delayed the survey.
https://www.hmics.scot/news/hmics-seeks-your-views-police-investigation-hate-crime
Please note the survey has now been re-circulated and the closing date has now been extended to 12 noon on Friday 30 October 2020.
It would be greatly appreciated if you could share this link with your networks to gather further information on behalf of HMIC.
Police Scotland are advising golfers not to leave their clubs unattended following a number of thefts from outside golf clubs in the North East. Pro Shops at Golf Clubs are also being advised to review their security as a result of these incidents.
Crime Prevention Officer PC Mike Urquhart said ‘I would urge golfers to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity and persons near golf clubs. Between 1715 and 1815 hours on Friday 11 September 2020, golfing equipment valued at over £2000 was stolen from golf clubs in the Moray area.’
Anyone with information should contact Police Scotland on 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 quoting Police reference CF0207390920.
Student Safety
Starting university or college can mean some significant life changes - making new friends, studying in a new town, going out to new places and living independently for the first time. However, some of these changes could also increase your risk of becoming a victim of crime. Start out in the safest way possible by following some simple advice from Police Scotland -https://www.scotland.police.uk/studentsafety
Hotel Refund Fraud
Two males recently attended at a hotel in Tayside to pay for a reservation made on Booking.com. On attempting to pay with a card, the transaction failed twice, male 1 then asked to pay using a virtual card and the card terminal was handed to him. The transaction went through on this occasion, however suspect 1 showed the staff member his receipt, which showed he had been charged £100 extra, and a refund was agreed.
The terminal code for carrying out a refund procedure was input by the staff member, and appears to have been seen by both males, who were showing an overly keen interest in the book containing the code. Both males then attended their room and approximately 10 mins later male 1 re-attended at the reception desk claiming that the TV in the room was not working, along with other distraction techniques. The staff member then went to the room to check the TV, leaving male 1 unattended at the reception desk.
At the close of day the staff member carried out the usual transaction checks and discovered a large sum had been refunded to male 1's card. CCTV checks showed the male had tampered with the device when left unattended at reception.
Telephone Banking Fraud
Police Scotland is warning people to be vigilant following reports of phone banking fraud. Just last week, three Scottish consumers had tens of thousands of pounds stolen from their bank accounts after receiving cold calls from someone claiming to be from the fraud team of their local bank branch. The scammers were able to clone the banks' phone numbers in order to appear genuine and asked the consumers to transfer money into a separate account.
According to the most recent fraud report from UK Finance, a total of £207.8 million was lost to authorised push payment (APP) fraud in the first half of 2020, when victims were persuaded to make bank transfers to online scammers they believed were genuine traders or service providers.
Police Scotland advise that you should never give any personal information or bank details to a cold caller, even if they seem to know some of your details already. Your bank will NEVER cold call and ask you to transfer money to another account.
Contact your bank immediately if you think you may have made a payment to a scammer or if you are worried that a fraudulent transaction has been made from your account. Use the phone number on your bank statement or a publicly listed number (don’t use a number given to you by a cold caller). To ensure that you are disconnected from the cold caller, phone another number such as 123 before phoning your bank or call them from another phone.
Report scams to Advice Direct Scotland and if you have been the victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Police Scotland on 101.
Mystery Shopper Recruitment Scams
Fraudsters are targeting job-seekers with a recruitment scam that has already claimed 35 victims with losses totalling over £51,000. All of the victims have so far been from London.
The fraudsters use recruitment websites and apps to identify potential targets. The victim is then cold-called by someone claiming to be an employee of a mobile phone network. The caller explains to the victim that they will need to take part in a “mystery shopper” test in order to pass the recruitment process.
The victim is instructed to visit one of the mobile network’s high street stores and take out a phone contract using the victim’s own personal and financial details. They are assured that the contract will be cancelled after the recruitment process is completed.
Once the victim has successfully taken out the contract, they are directed to drop-off points to deliver the phone and SIM card to a ‘colleague’ of the caller. The victim is reassured that the contract will be terminated.
In reality, the victims will never hear from the suspects again, and are left liable for the mobile phone contract they were convinced to purchase. Some victims are also asked to move the “employer’s” money through their own bank accounts, putting them at risk of committing money laundering offences.
Investment Fraud - Clone Firms
Following warnings in July from fraud prevention service Cifas that savers may be more vulnerable to pension and investment fraud due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a pensioner from Paisley has lost tens of thousands of pounds in an online investment scam hers find out that their personal details have been used to take out loans, for which they are also now liable.
The woman believed that she was visiting the website of a legitimate bank and invested over £20,000, having being told that she would receive a 3% yield the following month. However, she had visited a 'clone' website and, when she contacted the real bank to enquire about her investment, they had no record of it.
Another pensioner from Bolton wanted to move some money into saving bonds and filled in his details on an online comparison site. He was then cold called by someone claiming to work for Aviva who offered him a deal, which he accepted. Thankfully, when he went to his bank to transfer money to the fraudsters, staff were suspicious and discovered that it was a scam.
Aviva have published a warning about fake websites and search engine adverts which use their name and logo to try to sell fake bonds to consumers. They have taken down 25 fake websites so far, but warn that scammers continue to set up new ones.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have also published several warnings about clone firms who use the details of firms authorised by the FCA and target people in the UK. These fraudsters may cold call, email or use social media advertising to try to convince potential investors that they represent an authorised firm. They often copy the real firm's website and slightly alter the contact details.
Find out more about how clone firms operate and how to protect yourself from investment scams on the FCA's website.
Recent Phishing Scams
Parking Penalty Charge Notice
Supposedly from HM Courts and Tribunals Service, this email asks you to click a link to pay a Penalty Charge Notice - it does not give any details of the vehicle used or location of the supposed offence.
Penalty charge notices will not be issued in this way and emails relating to parking charges in Scotland would come from the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service.
DVLA - Driving Licence Details Update / Vehicle Tax Payment Due
Two fake DVLA emails - one of which states that your profile information needs to be updated and asks you to click on a link and enter personal details including your address and date of birth. The other email says that a recent vehicle tax payment has failed and that you will be fined unless you click on a link to update your payment details. The DVLA will not email and ask you to confirm your payment or personal details via a link.
PayPal Text
A text supposedly from PayPal saying that to avoid having your account suspension, you have to click on a link to accept their new terms and conditions. If you need to take action in relation to your account, PayPal will use the secure message service within accounts to send you a message.
TV Licensing Email
An email saying that your TV Licence payment could not be automatically renewed and asking you to click on a link to renew your licence. TV Licensing will only email customers about payments if they have missed one and will not ask you to provide card details until you have signed in on their official website: www.tvlicensing.co.uk.
Halifax Email
An email saying that some of your account information is missing or incorrect and asking you to click on a link to update your details. It says that if you don't do this within 2 days, your account will be suspended. Genuine messages from Halifax will not use warning messages or threats in this way.
According to Microsoft's annual Digital Defence Report, cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated and have evolved new phishing attacks to prey on people's anxieties and uncertainties during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, over 13 billion malicious or suspicious emails were blocked, many of which imitated well-known brands or companies in an attempt to harvest people's personal details. If you receive any similar emails, you can report them to Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000 or through their website.
Student Safety
Starting university or college can mean some significant life changes - making new friends, studying in a new town, going out to new places and living independently for the first time. However, some of these changes could also increase your risk of becoming a victim of crime. Start out in the safest way possible by following some simple advice from Police Scotland -https://www.scotland.police.uk/studentsafety
Hotel Refund Fraud
Two males recently attended at a hotel in Tayside to pay for a reservation made on Booking.com. On attempting to pay with a card, the transaction failed twice, male 1 then asked to pay using a virtual card and the card terminal was handed to him. The transaction went through on this occasion, however suspect 1 showed the staff member his receipt, which showed he had been charged £100 extra, and a refund was agreed.
The terminal code for carrying out a refund procedure was input by the staff member, and appears to have been seen by both males, who were showing an overly keen interest in the book containing the code. Both males then attended their room and approximately 10 mins later male 1 re-attended at the reception desk claiming that the TV in the room was not working, along with other distraction techniques. The staff member then went to the room to check the TV, leaving male 1 unattended at the reception desk.
At the close of day the staff member carried out the usual transaction checks and discovered a large sum had been refunded to male 1's card. CCTV checks showed the male had tampered with the device when left unattended at reception.
Telephone Banking Fraud
Police Scotland is warning people to be vigilant following reports of phone banking fraud. Just last week, three Scottish consumers had tens of thousands of pounds stolen from their bank accounts after receiving cold calls from someone claiming to be from the fraud team of their local bank branch. The scammers were able to clone the banks' phone numbers in order to appear genuine and asked the consumers to transfer money into a separate account.
According to the most recent fraud report from UK Finance, a total of £207.8 million was lost to authorised push payment (APP) fraud in the first half of 2020, when victims were persuaded to make bank transfers to online scammers they believed were genuine traders or service providers.
Police Scotland advise that you should never give any personal information or bank details to a cold caller, even if they seem to know some of your details already. Your bank will NEVER cold call and ask you to transfer money to another account.
Contact your bank immediately if you think you may have made a payment to a scammer or if you are worried that a fraudulent transaction has been made from your account. Use the phone number on your bank statement or a publicly listed number (don’t use a number given to you by a cold caller). To ensure that you are disconnected from the cold caller, phone another number such as 123 before phoning your bank or call them from another phone.
Report scams to Advice Direct Scotland and if you have been the victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Police Scotland on 101.
Fraudsters are targeting job-seekers with a recruitment scam that has already claimed 35 victims with losses totalling over £51,000. All of the victims have so far been from London.
The fraudsters use recruitment websites and apps to identify potential targets. The victim is then cold-called by someone claiming to be an employee of a mobile phone network. The caller explains to the victim that they will need to take part in a “mystery shopper” test in order to pass the recruitment process.
The victim is instructed to visit one of the mobile network’s high street stores and take out a phone contract using the victim’s own personal and financial details. They are assured that the contract will be cancelled after the recruitment process is completed.
Once the victim has successfully taken out the contract, they are directed to drop-off points to deliver the phone and SIM card to a ‘colleague’ of the caller. The victim is reassured that the contract will be terminated.
In reality, the victims will never hear from the suspects again, and are left liable for the mobile phone contract they were convinced to purchase. Some victims are also asked to move the “employer’s” money through their own bank accounts, putting them at risk of committing money laundering offences.
Investment Fraud - Clone Firms
Following warnings in July from fraud prevention service Cifas that savers may be more vulnerable to pension and investment fraud due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a pensioner from Paisley has lost tens of thousands of pounds in an online investment scam hers find out that their personal details have been used to take out loans, for which they are also now liable.
Another pensioner from Bolton wanted to move some money into saving bonds and filled in his details on an online comparison site. He was then cold called by someone claiming to work for Aviva who offered him a deal, which he accepted. Thankfully, when he went to his bank to transfer money to the fraudsters, staff were suspicious and discovered that it was a scam.
Aviva have published a warning about fake websites and search engine adverts which use their name and logo to try to sell fake bonds to consumers. They have taken down 25 fake websites so far, but warn that scammers continue to set up new ones.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have also published several warnings about clone firms who use the details of firms authorised by the FCA and target people in the UK. These fraudsters may cold call, email or use social media advertising to try to convince potential investors that they represent an authorised firm. They often copy the real firm's website and slightly alter the contact details.
Find out more about how clone firms operate and how to protect yourself from investment scams on the FCA's website.
Recent Phishing Scams
Parking Penalty Charge Notice
Supposedly from HM Courts and Tribunals Service, this email asks you to click a link to pay a Penalty Charge Notice - it does not give any details of the vehicle used or location of the supposed offence.
Penalty charge notices will not be issued in this way and emails relating to parking charges in Scotland would come from the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service.
DVLA - Driving Licence Details Update / Vehicle Tax Payment Due
Two fake DVLA emails - one of which states that your profile information needs to be updated and asks you to click on a link and enter personal details including your address and date of birth. The other email says that a recent vehicle tax payment has failed and that you will be fined unless you click on a link to update your payment details. The DVLA will not email and ask you to confirm your payment or personal details via a link.
PayPal Text
A text supposedly from PayPal saying that to avoid having your account suspension, you have to click on a link to accept their new terms and conditions. If you need to take action in relation to your account, PayPal will use the secure message service within accounts to send you a message.
TV Licensing Email
An email saying that your TV Licence payment could not be automatically renewed and asking you to click on a link to renew your licence. TV Licensing will only email customers about payments if they have missed one and will not ask you to provide card details until you have signed in on their official website: www.tvlicensing.co.uk.
Halifax Email
An email saying that some of your account information is missing or incorrect and asking you to click on a link to update your details. It says that if you don't do this within 2 days, your account will be suspended. Genuine messages from Halifax will not use warning messages or threats in this way.
According to Microsoft's annual Digital Defence Report, cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated and have evolved new phishing attacks to prey on people's anxieties and uncertainties during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, over 13 billion malicious or suspicious emails were blocked, many of which imitated well-known brands or companies in an attempt to harvest people's personal details. If you receive any similar emails, you can report them to Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000 or through their website.
For up-to-date information on scams and cyber-related crimes and crime prevention tips, check out the following monthly bulletin: https://cyberscotlandweek.com/news
or sign up to receive updates at https://scot.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=95521127d4a8eebda241ca1b6&id=243ff3773b
CRIMESTOPPERS - https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ Tel. 0800 555 111
Crime Reduction Unit, North East Division, Police Scotland, 230 Abbotswell Crescent, Aberdeen, AB12 3JT
Email: NorthEastCrimeReduction@scotland.pnn.police.uk
Website: www.scotland.police.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/NorthEPolice
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NorthEastPoliceDivision
Police Scotland's North East Division covers rural and urban areas in Moray, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City. The division has five territorial command areas which have their own dedicated Area Commander, who is responsible for the daily policing function. Each command area is served by a number of community policing teams whose activities are built around the needs of the local community. These teams respond to local calls and look for long term solutions to key issues. They are assisted by the division's Crime Reduction Unit who deliver against Force and local priorities in a number of areas, including physical and social crime prevention, supporting and enhancing community engagement and creating and sustaining strong and effective partnership working.
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