Jul 20, 2015

Bottesford NHW Alert: Burglaries / Courier Fraudsters / Light (Lite) Loans Fraud: Torrent Locker Fraud

Burglaries
 
Residents are advised that there have been a number of burglaries in the area over recent weeks. Please be vigilant, keep your property and valuables secure and report any suspicious activity to the police: crime in progress 999, otherwise 101.
 
Courier Fraudsters
 
Courier fraudsters have been identifying themselves to victims on the telephone as "Detective Constable Martin Benton of New Scotland Yard Fraud Department". The fraudsters will invent a story regarding fraudulent activity on your card and request your bank/card details.
 
No such person exists at the Metropolitan Police. If you receive a call from someone purporting to be this individual, terminate the call immediately.  
 
Protect yourself against courier fraud:
  • Your bank will never send a courier to your home
  • Your bank and the police will never collect your bank card
  • Your bank and the police will never ask for your PIN
  • If you receive one of these calls end it immediately
Victim Advice:
  • If you have handed over any details to the fraudster, call your bank and cancel your cards immediately.
  • If you want to call your bank, then do it from another telephone.

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by  telephone 0300 123 2040.

Light (Lite) Loans Fraud
 
Fraudsters are targeting individuals who have recently expressed an interest in an online loan. Unsolicited calls are made by fraudsters who appear to be calling from a genuine company. They state that the recently applied for loan has been agreed, but an "advance fee" is required before the money can be transferred.

Once these "fees" have been paid, either directly to the fraudsters' bank accounts or through a money service bureau, they are unrecoverable.

In many cases, fraudsters have asked for multiple upfront "fees" to address issues arising with the loan.

 
Protect yourself:
  • Authentic credit companies do not charge fees in advance.
  • Be wary of anyone calling who says they represent a credit company.
  • Report any instances of a credit company attempting to request fees in advance of a loan to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040.

Torrent Locker Fraud

A scam email is currently being sent to victims fraudulently claiming to be from British Gas or The Ministry of Justice. The attached document or link leads to the TorrentLocker ransomware.
 
This malware encrypts files on the victim's system and requests a ransom be paid in order for the files to be decrypted; one reported amount has been £330 worth of Bitcoins.
 
It has been reported that some anti-virus vendors are detecting this and stopping the pages and or documents from being opened.

 
Protect yourself 
  • If you receive an email that you are suspicious of do not follow any links or open attachments until you can verify that the email is genuine. To do this contact the organisation that the email has come from by sourcing the number independently from the email received.
  • If you believe the email to be fake, report it to your email provider as spam.
  • Ensure your anti-virus software is up to date this will help to mitigate the potential for virus to be downloaded. It should be noted that anti-virus software is constantly being updated and may not stop all viruses especially if they are new or been adapted.  It has been reported that some anti-virus vendors are detecting this and stopping the pages and or documents from being opened.
  • If you have opened an attachment or followed a link which you believe to be suspicious it is recommended that you run your anti-virus and/or take your machine to a reputable company to have it cleaned.
  • In cases where files have been encrypted it can be very difficult to retrieve them, and in most cases they will be lost. It is recommended that you always back up all files on a separate device or cloud storage to ensure they are not lost. Please remember that if a device is attached to the infected machine the files on this could also be encrypted with the virus so ensure they are kept separate.

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online
http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040.
 
Circulated by:
 

John Shilton

Principal NHW Co-ordinator

Bottesford Parish NHW

JohnS@BottesfordParishNHW.org.uk

Mobile: 07725636626

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