Community Tech Hub Weekly Newsletter; 11th September
Good Afternoon
We have started a weekly Tech Hub Scam Awareness Newsletter for our members. If you have any questions or concerns about anything that is covered here, please make contact with support@communitytechhub.org
In this newsletter;
1) Our next Briefing Session – 27th September 3-5pm
2) Avoid this copycat parking scam (Which?)
3) What to Look Out For
4) Stop & Think
We are busily building a website where a lot of this detail will be referred there, but until it is ready I hope you find the read interesting.
Grundisburgh Tech Hub Briefing Session – 27th September
Are you worried about ID Fraud and if it happens; how do you recover & protect yourself? What if you are being courted by someone you cant see or don’t know?
Come along to our next Community Tech Hub briefing session on 27th September where we have a guest speaker from London who has had direct experience of ID fraud. Chris Haden is an IT professional and board director who had a sizeable amount of his pension stolen and found 20+ bank accounts opened up in his name. Come along and listen to his personal story and how he recovered the situation. There are many morals to this story.
We are also very fortunate to have a second speaker from London who is a champion of Friends Against Scams – Pat Keane. Community Tech Hub is a partner of Friends Against Scams; Pat will share with us how romance scams work and what to be aware of – particularly if you are feeling vulnerable or isolated.
This event is free to members, non-members £15/each (pay on the door, booking in advance mandatory. If you join before or on the day – this event will be included. Feel free to bring a guest same terms apply.
To Book: events@communitytechhub.org
My Fake Kenyan bride-to-be Scammed me out of £85k" - Full story but on BBC news 5th Sept Evening. This is very much one of the subjects we will be discussing at the September briefing session.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78lyjx1y33o
Scammers steal home deposits in callous conveyancing scams
Lloyds Bank warns of a 29% rise in conveyancing fraud
Scammers are impersonating solicitors and making away with victims’ house deposits just before their completion dates.
This scam is known as conveyancing fraud, and it's typically executed by a fraudster hacking into a solicitor’s or buyer’s email account and providing alternative bank details for deposits to be paid to.
Avoid this copycat parking scam
An extract from a report published on Which? 5/9/24
A convincing new scam text about an unpaid parking fine is circulating and leads to a copycat government website.
The text from a random number tells you: ‘an unpaid parking fine was found on your vehicle,’ and that you need to ‘pay immediately.’ Check out the new scam and get clued up on how to spot and report it.
What to look out for
Scammers may ask you to disclose your PIN over the phone – your bank will never ask for your PIN in full like that.
Scammers may say they want to pick up your card urgently as they have identified fraudulent activity, or for reasons such as 'your security'.
A recent version of the courier scam involves scammers calling you, stating a 'member of staff at your bank' has been engaged in criminal activity, and your help is required to identify them. Again, this is not something a bank would ask a customer to do.
Scammers may pose as Police Officers or Fraud Investigators and ask you to withdraw a considerable sum of money to help with an investigation. They may promise to return this to you once the investigation is complete. But when you hand over any sum of money too quickly or before you've thought about it, they simply steal it
· Another common scam involves 'your bank' telling you scammers have taken over your account and you need to move your funds to a 'safe account'. If your account has been compromised, your bank will issue you with new account details. There will be no requirement for you to transfer funds to a 'safe account.'
Stop and Think
If someone contacts you or asks you to use a courier service - even the Royal Mail - to send cards, personal information, or information relating to your bank accounts, hang up at once. Police Officers and banks will never ask you to do this.