Bottesford

Courier fraud occurs when people hand over money or valuables to criminals posing as couriers.Using a variety of different tactics, criminals will call the victim and convince them into withdrawing a sum of money and handing it over to a ‘courier’ who is sent to their home.The victim may also be convinced into handing over their bank cards, PINs, as well as high-value items such as jewellery, watches and gold.Typically, courier fraudsters target victims by claiming to be a police officer or a member of staff from a victim’s bank. They often pressure people into making quick financial decisions to assist with fictitious investigations.National figures show that, last year alone, more than 3,500 people were victims of courier fraud, with losses totalling more than £15.2 million.Whilst reports of courier fraud in Humberside are amongst the lowest in the country (8 reports, losses of £2,000 in 2021), they do happen – and have occurred recently.During this incident, a person was phoned by someone who claimed that their bank details were compromised and must immediately contact Scotland Yard. The victim hung up, but the caller was able to remain on the line. The victim called 999 and spoke to someone (the caller again) who directed them to withdraw a significant sum from their bank. They were informed that a courier would arrive to pick it up.Thankfully, in this situation, we managed to stop the scam.This is just one method courier fraudsters employ to scam people out of their money. An analysis of data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has highlighted four other modus operandi (MOs) which are now more commonly being used by fraudsters.Other methods used by courier fraudstersBank card expiry: Fraudsters claim to be from the victim’s bank and say their card is no longer valid. They ask for the PIN and then send a “courier” to collect the card before using it for fraudulent purposes.Purchasing high-end items: The suspects pretend to be police officers and ask the victim to help with an undercover operation by purchasing expensive items like watches, jewellery and gold. Once the item is bought, the victim will hand over the item to the criminal.Counterfeit cash/bank investigation: A person claiming to be a police officer or banking official informs the victim that they need to help with a banking corruption investigation. The victim is told to withdraw a large amount of money and the cash is picked up later by a courier to “check for fingerprints” or to “identify counterfeit bank notes”.Computer takeover: The fraudster telephones the victim, purporting to be from their internet service provider, saying that they have had an issue with their internet connectivity and are due compensation. The victim is persuaded to download a remote access application, giving the suspects access to their home computers. The fraudster persuades the victims into thinking that they have been paid too much compensation and the victims then withdraw cash to pay the money back, which is later collected by a courier.Signs of courier fraudCourier fraud usually starts with an unsolicited telephone call to the victim.Typically, the suspect will pose as a bank official, police officer or a computer or utility engineer.Courier fraudsters will usually request the victim purchases high-value items such as Rolex watches and gold bullion, withdraws cash or provides a bank card for collection from a courier.Fraudsters will instruct victims not to tell any family or friends about what they are doing.When carrying out courier fraud, criminals will request the victim hangs up the phone to ring their bank for confirmation while keeping the line open. The suspect then purports to be bank official and provides false confirmation.Fraudsters will also arrange for a courier to meet the victim to collect the item they have purchased.How to protect against courier fraudDetective Inspector Ben Robinson, of our Economic Crime Unit, said: “People targeted by courier fraudsters can be from any demographic, but typically prey on some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. Victims typically tend to be aged between 70 and 89. “If you are in a caring or supportive role to people of these ages, I would urge you to start conversations about suspect schemes and the warning signs to look out regarding courier fraud. Often, just making someone aware of these can be enough help someone avoid falling victim to these callous individuals.”It is worth noting that:The police or your bank will never call you to ask you to verify your personal details or PIN.If you get a call asking you to do this, hang up, wait a few minutes and call your bank on a number you know to be genuine, such as the one on the back of your card. If you can, try to use a different phone than the one you were originally contacted on.The police or your bank will never send a courier to your home to collect your cash, bank cards, PINs or any other valuables. Any requests to do so are part of a scam.The police will never contact you out of the blue and ask you to participate in an investigation that requires you to withdraw money from your bank, or to purchase high-value goods, such as jewellery or gold.If you are contacted by someone you do not know, or cannot verify the identity of, follow the Take Five to Stop Fraud advice: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 okay to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.Protect: If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud online by clicking here or by calling 0300 123 2040.Alternatively, you can call our non-emergency number 101 to report information.Or, if you have information regarding those responsible for fraud, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. 

Good afternoon,Tomorrow, Wednesday 11th May 2022, there will be a BikeRegister cycle marking event taking place on Home Street, Scunthorpe (behind the NL Council building) between the hours of 08:30 and 13:00.  It is completely free.  We will register your cycle onto the national database and if you wish, we will reduce the risk of it being stolen and increase the chances of it being returned, by marking the cycle with either a membership QR code sticker or etching using a chemical compound, depending on the cycle. www.bikeregister.com/There will be further dates for events throughout the year if you cannot make this one.Always ensure you cycle is locked and secure, even within your garage or shed, with a good quality lock such as the one on offer on the attached flyer.  If you do not have one, or are looking for further crime prevention ideas or advice, please visit www.nnetwork.org.uk/Kind regardsPC 2021 Graham McNally

Humberside Police have hundreds of popular members of police staff, but few match the appeal of canine lifesaver Clive the black and white cocker spaniel.On Friday 11 March 2022 Clive retired from his paw-patrol as a life-saving Medical Assistance dog*.Clive worked alongside his owner Michelle Sutherland from Humberside Police’s Logistics Department where he was her faithful companion and true lifesaver. Seven months after getting Clive as a puppy in 2012, Michelle was diagnosed with the life-limiting condition Addison's Disease, a rare disorder of the adrenal gland with life debilitating symptoms including extreme fatigue, weakness and generalised muscle pain.After spending a long period in hospital following complications related to her condition, Michelle returned home and straight away noticed a change in Clive’s behaviour.  Following a chance conversation at Crufts in 2014 with representatives from Medical Detection dogs, a suggestion was made about the possibility of having Clive trained as an assistance dog to help Michelle manage her condition better.It soon became apparent that the changes Michelle had noticed in Clive were signs of him alerting and after approx. 18 months in training he became her Medical Alert Assistance dog. Clive can detect a drop in Michelle's steroid levels by a change in her scent levels and makes her aware of this by either jumping up to her face, or if she is asleep pawing at her until he gets her attention. She will then take action by injecting herself.As a result, he was a life saver every day and emergency ambulance trips became a thing of the past.  Clive is also a canine celebrity after featuring in a number of publications over the years, if you search for ‘Clive the cocker spaniel’ on Google he appears on so many websites and links!Clive has also been nominated for and won several awards including:Winner in the 2019 Pet Health Club’s “Pet Hero of the Year”Finalist in the 2019 Amplifon Pet of the yearWinner of the Barking Mad Pet of the yearHis most prestigious award though, which he will receive later in 2022, is the PDSA Order of Merit which is the animal equivalent of an OBE.Everyone at Humberside Police wishes Clive a long and happy retirement – We are sure there’s going to be plenty of treats in store for him as he steps aside for a new trained Medical Alert Assistance dog a black Labrador called Luke.*Medical Alert Assistance dogs provide support to anyone with complex health conditions and who have limited awareness of an impending life-threatening medical event. Using their amazing sense of smell, dogs can be trained to identify minute odour changes emitted prior to an emergency and alert the person to take preventative action.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Humberside, Jonathan Evison, has welcomed a Government funding announcement to tackle violent crime in our region.The Home Office announced today that the Humberside policing area will join 19 other regions by establishing a Violence Reduction Unit to identify the causes of violent crime and lead the local response to reducing violence through targeted interventions and education.Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) were first established in 2019 in 18 police force areas deemed to have the highest rates of violent crime or which showed an increasing trend of offences. In the three years since their launch some significant improvements1 in reducing violence have been demonstrated in those regions and from today Humberside and Cleveland have also been nominated to commission their own VRUs.The Home Office have invited the PCC’s Office to apply for £1.853m of funding to establish and operate the VRU over the coming year. This includes over £400,000 of ‘Grip’ funding to support the police to take additional enforcement activity in specific locations that are most affected by violent crime. The Home Office have guaranteed to provide funding for a further two years once the VRU is established.The VRU will be a partnership between the PCC, Humberside Police, the four local Council Authorities, local NHS, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, and Youth Offending Teams working closely with young people, community groups and education providers. They will be required to collaborate to create intervention programmes to work with people who may be at risk of offending and existing offenders to cut violent crime, reduce the number of victims and create safer communities. The partnership will be required to look at the root causes of violence, work in partnership to stop violence before it starts, halt the progression of violence once it has already begun and provide ways out for people already involved in violent behaviour, building on existing work. There will be a particular emphasis on working with children and young people and developing early intervention and prevention programmes to stop violent behaviour from occurring in the first place.Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Evison said: “This announcement marks the start of what will become a long-term project to tackle and prevent violent crime in our communities. The Humber region does not experience the levels of serious violence seen elsewhere in the country such as knife or gun crime, but we do have violence disproportionately affecting women and girls and a national trend which has seen violence steadily increase over recent years means we should not be complacent and this is not an issue which can be solved by police enforcement alone.“I will seek to establish the Violence Reduction Unit with a number of other local agencies to identify the root causes of violence and adopt an approach to understanding the factors which lead people to commit violence, whether in the home or the community, and work with them to address their behaviour. It is important that we also work to prevent violence from occurring at all, so educational programmes will be developed to engage with young people to steer them away from committing violent crime in the first place.“The first step is to bring together all the organisations required to be involved and work together to develop a proposal to share information in order to identify vulnerable children and young adults at risk and help steer them away from a life of crime and violence.“As well as dealing with the causes of violent crime, we also need to focus on stronger enforcement toward crime that is already happening, so I’m pleased that part of this funding will support Humberside Police to increase their activities in identified locations where violence occurs, which will lead to more patrols targeting those who commit violent crime, more convictions, fewer victims and safer communities.“We have already started work on our proposal to the Home Office and I will give a further update once funding has been secured and work on developing the VRU can begin.”Humberside Police Chief Constable Lee Freeman said: “The force has recently benefited from Grip funding of more than £390,000 to establish a hotspot policing trial across the region. This hyper-targeted police operation has enabled us to increase patrols in more than 100 hotspot locations across the region, with a view to driving down crime in those areas. The pilot has enabled us to complete an additional 1,700 hours of policing on top of our usual policing and it is having a positive impact. We’ve seen an overall reduction in crime, better detection rates and positive outcomes for victims. Most importantly, it has given us the chance to re-connect with our communities on a personal level.“Identifying and targeting hotspots is not a new tactic in policing, but by deploying dedicated officers in the right place at the right time, for the places with the highest volume and highest harm rating of serious violent crime, it is proving that we can have a significant positive impact on our communities.”

Good morning, The Isle Central Policing team are holding a police surgery today at 1200 at Epworth Police Station. Please pop down for a chat and to discuss any issues you may have. Thank you Isle Central NPT.   

Good evening,Please may I ask residents of the Bottesford Ward to raise any concerns you would like discussed at the next Multi-Agency Neighbourhood Action Meeting, or any issues you feel should be a policing priority?  Kind regards,Richie