Rogue Traders in the Four Lanes area. (e.g. bogus callers, courier fraud, cyber crime) Concern Update

Rogue Traders in the Four Lanes area. (e.g. bogus callers, courier fraud, cyber crime) Concern Update

I wanted to provide you with an update regarding Fraud (e.g. bogus callers, courier fraud, cyber crime), which people around your area have highlighted as an issue of concern on the priority survey.

There has been a recent incident in Four Lanes involving Rogue Traders. This particular group tried to get through the back gate of a garden and were very persistent when speaking to the home owner about completing work.

We urge everyone to be aware and cautious of people who knock on doors offering gardening, roofing, driveway, building or general maintenance work.

Rogue traders may:
- Offer unsolicited work and pressure you into making quick decisions.
- Claim urgent repairs are needed when they are not.
- Give one price and then demand significantly more money.
- Carry out unnecessary or unfinished work.
- Ask for large amounts of cash payments up front.

Please remember:
- Never feel pressured into agreeing to work on the doorstep.
- Do not hand over large amounts of cash
- Report suspicious incidents.

People in the UK lost £1.2bn to fraud in 2022, the equivalent of £2,300 every minute, according to bank industry group UK Finance. It said around three million scams took place, with frauds involving payment cards being the most common.

Fraud is when trickery is used to gain a dishonest advantage, which is often financial, over another person. Cybercrime is any criminal act dealing with computers and networks.

To report an incident of cybercrime or fraud and for further information visit the Report Fraud website at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/.  

If you haven’t already listed Report Fraud as an Information Provider who can send you information and alerts, why not click on the settings button at the bottom of this email, log into your account and update your sharing settings.

If you ever experience this issue or have information regarding an incident, please report it using our online reporting tools at https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat or call the non-emergency number 101. 

Alternatively, you can stay 100 per cent anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.

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