Welcome

Hello everyone and welcome to this long overdue first CAPASP Supporters Newsletter in our new and improved format. We bring lots of news and information today and would love to hear your thoughts on the new style and any suggestions you may have for future issues.

Please send your comments and ideas to us using the contact e-mail at the bottom of this newsletter.

 Thank you.

New Reporting Scams Infographic

Reporting Scams for Residents and Businesses in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

We hope you like our new infographic (above) illustrating the reporting routes for residents and businesses in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to report different scams as agreed by CAPASP partners.

By following these lines for reporting scams, victims are more likely to be offered appropriate practical and emotional support with their issue than if they report all scams to Action Fraud. Huge thanks to Mark Tassell at Costello Medical, one of our valued supporters, for designing this graphic for us. We think it looks great!

Please help us to share this far and wide to make sure those who encounter a scam know of the best way of dealing with it and getting the help they need. You can find downloadable versions of the graphic here:

Pdf version and  Accessible version

Friends Against Scams Explained

Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative to give people the knowledge and skills to take a stand against scams. During 'lockdown' the milestone of 500,000 Friends was reached nationally - a wonderful achievement I'm sure you'll agree - but there is still plenty of scope to build the friendship base in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Please encourage friends, relatives and neighbours to become a Friend - it really could make a positive difference to their and others' lives. People can become a Friend Against Scams by completing the 20 minute online learning or by attending a face-to-face training session when government guidelines allow. Several CAPASP partners offer face-to-face training so please contact us if you would like to organise a session for your community group or staff and we will put you in touch with the most appropriate SCAMchampion.

SCAMchampions Explained

Friends Against Scams who want to do a bit more can become a SCAMchampion. Registered SCAMchampions have access to resources to deliver Friends Against Scams training – with several different packages available to suit different audiences: a standard version, Young Friends Against Scams, Businesses Against Scams and an accessible version for people with special educational needs and disabilities.

For more information or to become a SCAMchampion visit the SCAMchampion webpage. If you're nervous about taking that extra step then please rest assured that CAPASP partners are happy to support you to become a confident SCAMchampion. You will not be alone!

Snapshot of Accessible Friends Against Scams Resources

Stopping Scam and Nuisance Phone Calls

Nuisance and scam phone calls show no sign of being knocked out by coronavirus. In fact with people at home more than usual during the pandemic, reports of bogus telephone calls claiming to be HMRC, Amazon Prime and the like have increased at the same time as the worrying emergence of fake calls claiming to offer help during the coronavirus outbreak.

At the very least these calls are an irritation - but in the worst case scenario a resident may be tricked out of their life savings.

Here's our three-step advice to help stop these calls in their tracks. Please spread the word and consider offering a helping hand to those who might find this dauting themselves:

1. Register with the Telephone Preference Service to opt out of unsolicited live sales and marketing calls.
2. Contact your telephone service provider to ask about their call blocking services.
3. If the above two steps do not solve the issue then the final step is to invest in a call blocking device (but beware of fraudsters selling fakes!). 

Cambridgeshire County Council's Community Protection Team have a small number of free trueCall devices, funded by South Cambridgeshire Community Safety Partnership, available to residents of the district who are plagued by nuisance calls. Priority is given to those who have either already been defrauded or are vulnerable due to cognitive impairments or who are at risk of other hazards such as slips, trips and falls getting up for the telephone. Please contact us if you know someone eligible in South Cambridgeshire.

Pensions Scams Warning

The Money and Pensions Service, Financial Conduct Authority and Pensions Regulator are warning people to be careful if they are considering transferring their pensions.

Since the coronavirus outbreak began, stock markets have fallen - and are likely to rise and fall for some time. However, your pension remains a safe, long-term investment for your retirement, and transferring it from a defined benefit (DB) to a defined contribution (DC) scheme is a serious decision so please do not do anything in haste.

The government has banned cold calling for pensions, so if anyone calls you out of the blue about yours, just hang up - it could be a scam. You can also visit the ScamSmart website to check the firm you are dealing with is regulated and to see whether what you’re being offered is a known scam or has the signs of a scam.

It is really important to seek guidance or advice before making a decision. The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS), part of the Money and Pensions Service, offers free specialist pensions guidance and will help answer any questions you may have. If your transfer value is more than £30,000, you are required by law to take advice from a suitably qualified financial adviser regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), before you can transfer your benefits to a defined contribution pension scheme.

Take your time to make all the checks you need – you can find suggested questions to ask your adviser on the FCA’s website here with further information on pension transfers here.

Your Help Needed

The Cambridgeshire Research Group are seeking case studies of coronavirus related scams or scams occurring during lockdown. This aims to help provide insight into how coronavirus has impacted Cambridgeshire and Peterborough residents in regards to scams.

If you have an example you are happy to share please send a description of the scam, the location where it took place (e.g. town/district) and the impact it has had on victims (without identifying individuals) to crime.research@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Case studies are really valuable to help us bring alive the statistics we analyse to understand trends locally at this challenging time. Please submit your responses by 25^th August. Thank you.

Grant Award from Acting Police and Crime Commissioner

We are delighted to have recently been awarded a Crime and Disorder Reduction grant of £10,000 from the Acting Police and Crime Commissioner for our work in building community resilience to scams.

Acting Police and Crime Commissioner Ray Bisby

We look forward to providing more information about how this money is being used in future editions.

Fenland Community Safety Survey

Our partners at Fenland Community Safety Partnership (CSP) have designed a survey for the community to highlight any issues that affect them or their local area. Information from the survey will be used to inform the priorities and the work of the CSP.

If you live or work in Fenland district please do take the opportunity to have your say.

Cambourne and District U3A Become Friends

Karen Reid from Cambridgeshire County Council and Nigel Sutton of Cambridgeshire Constabulary collaborated to deliver live scams awareness training, using Zoom, to Cambourne and District U3A Members. The session was a great success and resulted in twenty five new Friends Against Scams to add to the tally! Well done Karen and Nigel!

Scams Q&A Broadcast

CAPASP are delighted to be partnering with Fenland Community Safety Team to broadcast an online community engagement event on 20th August on the topic of Cyber Crime and Scams. Fenland residents are invited to send their questions in advance via survey monkey.

Online Purchasing Scams

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Trading Standards, a CAPASP partner, has reported a number of complaints from consumers who have ordered items online, supposedly from UK traders, only to find that the trader is actually based in China.

Poor quality and sometimes  completely unrelated goods are shipped. For example one consumer ordered Lego, waited weeks for delivery, then receiving cheap nasty counterfeit sunglasses.

Another thought they were ordering Nike trainers and received a fake Tiffany necklace instead.

For advice about online shopping visit Get Safe Online.

Fraudulent E-mails Targeting Parish Councils

Thanks to Longstanton Parish Council for alerting us that  bogus e-mails continue to target local councillors purporting to be from another member of the council. The messages exchanged result in a request from the scammer for the recipient to provide iTunes vouchers.

Make sure you know who you are talking to on e-mail by hovering over or clicking on the sender's address - or better still by picking up the phone to check with the person they claim to be.

Scam Advert Reporting Tool

During the coronavirus pandemic, the number of scam adverts has shot up and continues to rise. To help filter out fraud the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has launched a new tool for consumers to report scam advertising on social media, search engines and elsewhere online. You can find out more about this here.

Think Communities to Stop Scams

CAPASP and the authorities committing to the Think Communities shared approach to community resilience have marvelled at the efforts of communities to support local people during the coronavirus crisis. You might be interested in this report which has been produced by New Local Government Network which reviews some of the learnings and may provide some useful insight to apply to community-led scams prevention.