Neighbourhood Watch: Current Scams

The Amazon Prime scam involves victims receiving an automated call informing them that they have been charged for an Amazon Prime subscription and to press 1 to cancel the transaction. There are other Amazon scams circulating at the moment. Do not press 1 or any other number mentioned on any of the automated scams.

HMRC automated phone call scam will tell you that they are filing a lawsuit against you, and to press 1 to speak to a caseworker to make a payment. If you receive such a call, please put the phone down immediately. The callers use a variety of numbers and HMRC would like you to report full details of the scam by email to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk including date of the call, phone number and content of the call. Also, texts have been received purporting to be from HMRC advising that you have a tax rebate and emails with the wording “that if you're self-employed or a member of a partnership and have been impacted by coronavirus you are eligible to claim a grant.Government is giving a grant between 2,500 pounds and 7,500 pounds if you are a tax payer. You must download the form attached to this email and fill out the required information to complete approval for your grant claim.”

Residents have received calls from Chris of the Insulation Advisory Line in Reading saying that they need to check your loft insulation for damp. The STD code is from Leeds but shows as an International call when the phone rings.

Residents are receiving an official-looking email headed Council Tax – Gov.uk advising that you are getting a Council Tax Reduction as you`re on a low income or get benefits. Apply now to claim the reductions made over your past 5 years of Council tax payments and they may quote total amount of benefits as £385.50 and that the refund will be transferred direct to your Debit/Credit Card. Do not click on any of the links, they are just trying to obtain your card details.

Royal Mail customers are being warned about a new convincing scam email that has been circulated asking people to pay £2.99 fee for an undelivered item of mail - the criminals actually want bank account details. The message, which appears almost genuine, warns homeowners if they don't opt for delivery, they will return the package to the sender. It then directs the customer to a link, asking them to fill out an information form. The form asks users for their card number, security code, sort code, account number and mother's maiden name.

Fraudsters are known to make calls claiming to work for BT, when it's actually a scam. They may ask you for personal information, want access to your computer and in some cases, ask for your bank details.

Halifax, TSB, Lloyds and other banking scams are being sent by text, automated phone call or email. Do not respond. Always go to the genuine websites or phone your bank if you wish confirmation that this is a scam.

Accident calls are still being received in the hope that you may have had an accident.

NHS scams. There are still variations of these by phone, text or email, so please be careful not to give any Bank details. One of the latest scams the caller says they are from NHS and ask some health-related questions. They then proceed to ask if you have a life insurance which they try to sell you if you do not have one currently. Another extremely dangerous scam is calls offering fake vaccines or tests. You will be asked to pay for these. They will be after your bank details.

National Insurance Scam. Victims have reported receiving an automated telephone call, in which they are told their "National Insurance number has been compromised". They are instructed to "press 1 on their handset to be connected to the caller” in order to supposedly fix the issue and get a new National Insurance number. Once connected to the "caller", victims are pressured into handing over personal details - which the fraudsters claim is to enable them to receive a new National Insurance number. However, giving the criminals your personal details will enable them to commit fraud using your information