PCC supports campaign to raise awareness of phone scams
THE Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex has pledged his support to a Neighbourhood Watch campaign to raise awareness of phone scams.
The Neighbourhood and Home Watch week runs from Saturday, June 20 to Sunday June 28 and is a national campaign which encourages communities to stay safe and reduce crime by working together. This year the campaign is focussing on the rising danger of phone scams.
People being deceived into transferring money directly to fraudsters is now the most common phone scam and new research shows that 23.6m was lost in this way over the course of the year. Neighbourhood Watch is working in partnership nationally with Financial Fraud Action UK to advise members of the public how to avoid falling victim to these scams.
Detective Superintendent Stuart Hooper, director of intelligence for the Serious Crime Directorate, says fraud is being taken seriously because of the impact it has on people’s lives:
“While telephone scammers may not be visible on the streets like burglars or bogus callers, neighbours can still help to protect each other. The best way to protect against fraud is by spreading the message as widely as possible and sharing information with friends and family. The message is clear, if we would not allow it in face-to-face; we will not allow it online or over the telephone.
Phone scams are just part of a growing fraud problem along with online crime such as business opportunity fraud and phishing emails. It is important to work alongside industry to combat this problem and bring those responsible to justice.”
This year Neighbourhood Watch members and coordinators will be asking their neighbours to pass on advice to three of their friends so that over 2 million people can be reached by the end of the campaign.
Nick Alston, Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “I am an active member of Neighbourhood Watch and a great supporter of their work. One of the best ways of tacking fraud and cyber crime is to share details of the scams that criminals are using. Neighbourhood Watch groups are often amongst the first to know of any new criminal scams so I urge everyone to get involved and please also tell your friends and neighbours what the fraudsters are up to. Neighbourhood Watch is increasingly using Essex Community Messaging (ECM) which enables you to learn details of crimes in your area and how to prevent them. So please consider joining both your local Neighbourhood Watch group and signing up for ECM.”
