Meads Eastbourne Neighbourhood Watch


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Meads Neighbourhood Panel Email the Meads Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator: roy.d.peacock@btinternet.com Telephone 01323 647729
INFORMATION on RECENT INCIDENTS AROUND MEADS I have now had two calls about the wholesale delivery of a letter and plastic bag from Age UK East Sussex. Apparently there have been incidents of the package not being pushed right through the letter box and hence remaining on show for too long; a tell tale hint! The charity has been contacted. They apologised and have contacted the deliverers to re-enforce the need for the package to be put through the letter box and not left on the doorstep. Meads Ward NW Coordinator 01323 647729 Uploaded 23rd April 2013 11:59 " Disappointingly, there has only been one of three recent Police street meetings that has been well attended. These meetings are an ideal opportunity to make our local Neighbourhood Policing Team members aware of any concerns, issues or other information you may have. There are ongoing problems with cold calls to Meads residents from Antiques dealer(s) and telephone calls from allegedly The Ministry of Justice and lawyers about PPI and Car Accidents. All should be ignored and no information given unless you fell satisfied to do so." Uploaded 18th Jan 2013 15:55 This ALERT follows that of a similar one earlier this year. In that case a man was in a RED Jaguar car. In these most recent cases, the man has been in a black saloon car; make unknown and registration not seen. The unreported first incidence occurred some two months ago in Trinity Trees when a man in a black car drew alongside an elderly lady on her way home. He called and said that he knew her; they had met at the Hydro Hotel at a gathering about antiques. Told he was mistaken he drove off in the opposite direction. On Friday, 30th November this same lady heard from her much older neighbour the following. At about 1430 on 29th November, she had been approached by a man in a large black car in Trinity Place. Apparently, he used the same line/words about antiques and had she any to sell. She told him that she had not seen him before and walked on. Then at about 1530 on Friday 30th November while waiting for a bus outside Waitrose the same black car and driver drew up and used the same approach. After being told I don't know you he responded with " you must have a double in Eastbourne". The concern I have in these cases reported to me, is that it is the elderly that have being targeted and these two ladies are very apprehensive and worried. Also, the tactic of the driver seems to be to position the car so that the registration plate is not seen while the vehicle is stationary and is driven off in the reverse direction to that of the pedestrian except the bus stop incident. I have a snip-it of other information that I'll pass on to the police officers to follow up, but meantime, if you are aware of such incidences or made aware, can we piece information together to help identify who the man may be? Uploaded 5th Dec 2012 14:04 No. 1 - I have had reports of the Irishmen still calling in the area to offer cleaning of drives and roofs. In one case the lady of the house felt very intimidated when the man would not accept "NO thank you" several times. Relenting she asked for his card whereupon he rushed to a WHITE van and was driven off by an accomplice. No registration number of the van was possible; PCSO Brian Burton has since spoken to the lady about her experience. ADVICE : Say NO, take any vehicle registration number and inform the Police on 101 No. 2 - In another case a man in a red Jaguar Car stopped an elderly lady, said he was an antiques dealer and asked if she had anything she would like to get rid of. He offered to go into her home to value any of her property. Fortunately she said enough to make him drive off rather smart'ish! The police were informed of this. ADVICE : Say NO thank you, take vehicle registration number and inform the Police on101 No. 3 - This concerns repeated telephone calls about computer problems and /or Microsoft Windows. Using "1471" results in the calling number being "00301". Using Google search it appears that as early as 2008 reports/questions refer to the same number and the same approach. ADVICE : I seem to have stopped these type of calls by saying to the caller ' we are on a Telephone Preference Service, could I speak to your Supervisor/Manager please '. Tell any of them that they should refrain from calling because of it OR otherwise you would have a check made of their number wherever it is. They are not to know that it might not be possible BUT in some cases it may be possible if certain action is taken by the service provider. Roy Peacock Meads Ward NW Coordinator Uploaded 27th Oct 2012 11:20
Another Credit card scam There is a new and clever credit card scam - be wary of those who come bearing gifts. Please use this as you see fit but let your family and friends know about it. There has been something like it in the past. This scam is supposed to have happened to someone a week or so ago in St. Albans. It may well now be happening anywhere else in the country. It works like this: You receive a phone call from someone who tells you that that they are from some outfit called "Express Couriers", asks if you are going to be home because there is a package for you, and the caller says that the delivery will arrive in roughly an hour. And, sure enough, about an hour later, a Delivery man will turn up with a beautiful basket of flowers and wine. Intrigued about who would send you such a gift, you enquire as to who the sender was. The deliveryman's reply will be that he is only delivering the gift package. But, allegedly there is a card being sent separately; (unlikely that the card will ever arrive!). There will also be a consignment note with the gift. The delivery man will then explain that because the gift contains alcohol, there is a �3.00 "delivery charge" as proof that he has actually delivered the package to an adult; not just left it on the doorstep to just be stolen or taken by anyone. This all sounds plausible but offer to pay him cash, he'll tell you that the company requires payment to be by credit or debit card only so that everything is properly accounted for. To satisfy this requirement the "delivery man" will ask for a card to be swiped on a small mobile card machine which has a small screen and keypad like devices often used in restaurants and pubs. Enter the card's "PIN" and the "security number" and a receipt will be printed out and given to you. If you do all of this then DO NOT BE SURPRISED in a few days afterwards that your account has been charged/money withdrawn from your credit/debit account. You will have given away the details needed for it to be done. 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 and/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! Roy Peacock Meads Ward NW Coordinator Uploaded 27th Oct 2012 11:20
Following the ALERT message below...
"Following the ALERT message below, I have been informed of more than 10 cases here in the Meads Ward. There have been others elsewhere. But of interest, I recently heard good news from one of our Meads Coordinators as in the extract of a message from BT to an affected customer that follows; "BT have been working with the security people on an ongoing investigation. There has been a recent break through and a number of arrests have been made. That's all the information we have at the moment but rest assured we are doing everything that is reasonable possible to ensure that this is stopped. Kind Regards Elaine McGovern Executive Level Complaints" That this good news is welcome, it may not be the end of this activity. So your vigilance as regards anything untoward going on around BT equipment would be appreciated and anything suspicious should be reported to the Police and ensure you continue checking your land-line telephone Bills."
EASTBOURNE NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH RED ALERT ! TELEPHONE CALL FRAUD
A VERY IMPORTANT WARNING TO ALL TELEPHONE BILL COMSUMERS THAT A FRAUD IS CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE WITHIN EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT... THIS INFORMATION HAS COME FROM OUR OWN MEMBERS AND THE POLICE HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE... IT IS CURRENTLY KNOWN TO AFFECT "TALK TALK - BT -ORANGE AND SKY" CONSUMERS HAVE BEEN STUNG FOR £200 TO £350 OF CALLS THAT THEY HAVE NOT MADE AND THESE ARE APPEARING ON THEIR BILLS. THE CALLS ARE MADE BETWEEN 1AM AND 5AM AND ARE TO AFRICA AND NIGERIA.. WHAT CAN YOU DO ? CHECK YOUR BILLS AND IF YOU RECEIVE ELECTRONIC BILLING CHECK ONLINE. IF YOU ARE PART OF A SKY PACKAGE THESE CALLS WILL BE CHARGED AND YOU MAY ONLY BE AWARE WHEN YOU RECEIVE YOUR BANK STATEMENT... THE SYSTEM IS BEING TAPPED THROUGH TELECOMMUNICATION HARDWARE AND NOT YOUR PHONE SO DO NOT PANIC ON THIS SCORE... YOUR SUPPLIER HAS "A DUTY OF CARE" SO INITIALLY INFORM THEM AND "DO NOT FEEL OBLIGED TO PAY OR BE INTIMIDATED TO PAY" THE COMPANIES OWN "FRAUD INVESTIGATION UNIT" WILL NEED TO INVESTIGATE BUT MAKE THEM AWARE OF THIS NOTICE AND THAT THE POLICE ARE AWARE AND ADVISED YOU TO CALL YOUR SUPPLIER... PLEASE INFORM ANY PERSON YOU CONSIDER AT RISK AND PASS ON THIS INFORMATION SO AS TO HELP BRING THE CULPRITS TO BOOK.. IF NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH CAN HELP YOU, IF YOU ARE NOT SURE, CONTACT YOUR CO-ORDINATOR OR MY SELF.. PHIL HEARN. CHAIRMAN EASTBOURNE NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH.