This is a message from Val McPherson Chair of Princes Risborough & District NW Association.

Unknown Number Scam

Many of us receive unknown numbers ringing on our main lines or mobiles. Often the number may show up as 01844, or 01296 - Aylesbury, or 01494 - Wycombe all local numbers but be careful if you ring them back because a local self employed business received a call, rung back on the local number 01844 and was charged £3.50 to hear someone say "hello".

These scammers use a simple but effective tactic, they will call your phone straight away then hang up before you get the chance to answer. Your phone records the missed call which yo are unlikely to recognise. Many people will call the number back to see who called them. However, the returned call can lead to a scam in two ways.

1. The number you called back may have been set up as a premium rate number without you knowing, which means you will be charged by your phone provider to connect the number as well as charged a lot for the minute you stay connected.

2. When you call the number back you may be greeted with an automated message telling you that you have won a prize, along with another number you must call in order to claim that prize. The second number is usually set up as a premium rate number which ends up costing you a lot to connect to them as well as a higher rate per minute to stay connected to claim your prize.

TEXT Message scams are on the increase ad generally start by sending you a text from a number you do not recognise.

However, the text is generally worded as though it is being sent from someone you know and using the words "Hi it's Tom or Alison. I have just arrived how are you? or "Happy Birthday old fella, we should meet up for a catch up?. Another common tactic is for an automated message  to be sent which sounds like someone flirting with you. This tactic works well as many people respond and begin texting back many times with the scammer. It is only later  when it is too late that they have been charged a higher rate per message sent & it can get worse as sometimes phone companies will charge you to receive the message as well.

Remember to stay vigilant and check the unknown phone number first by visiting:  https://whoscalled.co.uk

WhatsApp

If a family member or friend makes an unusual request on WhatsApp, always call the person outside of WhatsApp to confirm their identity. ⚠Report spam messages or block a sender within WhatsApp. Press and hold on the message bubble, select ‘Report’ and then follow the instructions. If you lost money as a result of the scam message, please report it to @actionFrauduk. https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

 Ask Silver - 

The new scam checker Ask Silver is a simple tool that anyone with a smartphone can use to protect themselves from scams. All you need to do is upload a screenshot of any text, email or website you are suspicious about. Using the power of AI, Ask Silver will instantly check on the communication in question and indicate whether it’s safe or a ‘Red Flag’, also suggesting next steps to stay safe. 

Founder Alex Somervell, was inspired to launch a service called Ask Silver, after a family member lost around £150,000 in a scam. To use Ask Silver, start by signing up at https://www.ask-silver.com/ It is available inside WhatsApp, just like any of your other contacts that you can message. Once you sign up, you will  receive a one-time email with a QR code to scan, which opens the WhatsApp chat. You then simply send through a screenshot of anything you want to check, and you can even report scams to the authorities with one tap at the end of the check.

Filling in Forms

Do you get annoyed when you fill in a form and have to enter your phone number even when you know that the company does not really need it? What are they going to do with it? Who will they give it to? Your privacy is valuable – protect your phone number with trueCall38! The solution: enter their phone number 0333 88 88 88 88 (that’s three threes, eight eights) as your phone number, and if, or rather when, they call, those cold call culprits will hear their short but sweet recorded message:- "trueCall38 is handling my calls. I prefer not to be contacted by phone, so please contact me via my email address. Goodbye!" Note: Some online forms are very fussy and will not  accept the full trueCall38 number. If the number is rejected then enter 0333 8888 888 (three threes, seven eights). 
And lastly -

Most of us are cutting our lawns, or doing a light trim to a hedge, or  putting in plants etc - remember please do not leave your expensive items out when you pop back into the house/shed or garage as you may find on your return your gardening equipment has gone for a walk.

Another quick thought  and this may sound strange but if you are  going upstairs or into another room whilst at home always remember to lock your backdoor, never leave it unlocked, because you will not hear an uninvited guest come into your house and help themselves to whatever they fancy at your expense. 

Val