Welcome

Hello everybody, this newsletter comes a little later in the month than usual due to an extended Easter break. But now it’s 'all systems go' and we hope you feel the same now that the days are longer and brighter. It’s the time of year that people start to think about home improvements so this month we give advice about staying safe from rogue traders and finding reputable traders to do the job. Enjoy reading and please do send us your contributions for future newsletters.

Funding Available for Stop Loan Sharks Projects

Our friends at the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) are inviting applications for grants of up to £5,000 from their Stop Loan Sharks Community Fund for projects to help tackle loan sharks.

Community organisations, charities and groups are welcome to apply, as are collaborative bids between multiple agencies. 

The funding comes from money seized from convicted loan sharks under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). Projects must raise awareness of the dangers of loan sharks, reduce crime and disorder and have a positive impact on communities.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday 30^th June 2021. Read the full story and learn how to apply here.

Staying Safe from Rogue Traders

As spring arrives many people's thoughts turn to sprucing up home and garden. But, as with many other seasonal or topical events, scammers are always ready to take advantage of this.

Rogue traders are doorstep scammers who knock on doors offering to do home improvement or landscaping works. They might say they've done some work nearby (to build your trust) and have some materials left over so they can do the work for you at a special one-time-only price - all tactics to get you to agree to the job.

Sometimes rogue traders will ask for money up-front and never return. In other cases they may agree a price which soon escalates extortionately as work gets underway. The work may be left incomplete or performed to a poor standard which requires an experienced trader to come and put right. 

Our top tips for getting those jobs done to a good standard at a price that is right are:

• Do not deal with traders on the doorstep. A decent trader will not need to canvas for business door-to-door.
• Use a door sticker to deter doorstep traders or give you assistance in turning away those who ignore it. And remember, you do not have to answer your door to anybody. It is not rude to not answer.
• Use traders recommended by friends or family and whose work you have seen.
• If you don't have any recommendations from friends and family try approved trader schemes Safe Local Trades or Buy With Confidence. Safe Local Trades (a CAPASP partner) can be contacted at 0800 014 1832 or www.safelocaltrades.com or Buy With Confidence (a Trading Standards approved trader scheme) can be found at www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk 
• Get three quotes in writing for the job in question. This will help you to see if a quote is reasonable and what exactly you can expect to be included in the price. 

If you think you or someone you know has been conned by rogue traders report it to the Police on 101 (if it's after the event) or on 999 if the incident is still occurring or the traders are coming back to collect money.

Update to Have I Been Pwned?

We have previously recommended the website www.haveibeenpwned.com which can search e-mail addresses to see if they have been stolen as the result of a data breach. Well our fabulous partner, Nigel Sutton at Cambridgeshire Constabulary, informs us that you can now use the site to search telephone numbers to see if they are also in the hands of cyber criminals.

Just enter the phone number into the search box including  the international dial code (+44 for the UK) then drop the first zero of the number. 

Remember, this is only a guide, just because your email and phone number may not appear to have been compromised, it does not mean they are not already in the hands of criminals. STOP – CHALLENGE – PROTECT. Find out more at  www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk

Partners in the Spotlight: Back Next Month!

Our 'Partners in the Spotlight' feature will be back next month where you can learn more about another of our wonderful CAPASP partners and what they're doing to prevent scams and support victims. 

In the mean time please stay safe and look out for one another.

See you next time!

New Supporters

This month The Brambles Community Group in St Ives join as a new supporter of CAPASP. 

The group comprises a bunch of residents who are keen to make the most of where they live and support one another as good neighbours.

Welcome The Brambles Community Group, we are delighted to have you on board!

Karen advises caution with incoming calls and texts

This month Karen Reid from Cambridgeshire County Council's Community Protection Team joined Jeremy Sallis on his mid morning show on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. 

Karen gave some great advice to listeners about number spoofing and staying safe from telephone scams. You can listen here (from 2:42:53).

Fenland Community Safety Survey

Fenland Community Safety Partnership would like the Fenland community to highlight concerns relating to crime or disorder that affects them or their local area by completing this survey.

The information obtained will be used to inform the work of the Community Safety Partnership. 

Royal Mail Text Scam

We've previously warned about scam texts and e-mails purporting to be from Royal Mail, DPD and other couriers stating that a small fee is required for an undelieverd parcel and giving a link to make the alleged payment.

This BBC news article details how an ex-police officer of 25 years was caught out by one such scam text message purporting to be from Royal Mail. The victim clicked on the link, provided payment details and unfortunately ended up being £3k poorer.

Being an ex-cop the victim thought he would never be caught out by scammers.

Remember ANYONE can fall victim to scams. Please continue to remain vigilant and warn others to help them stay safe too.

Census 2021 Scams

In last month's CAPASP news we warned how the Census 2021 might be seen as an opportunity for fraudsters to impersonate Census Field Officers. 

Sadly this has proved the case in some areas but Action Fraud have put together some useful guidance to stay safe from Census scams on their website. 

Community Connector Opportunity

Peterborough City Council are recruiting for a Community Connector to join the Think Communities team. 

Details about the job and the sort of person the team are looking for can be found here. 

Closing date for applications is 30^th April 2021.