North Reading Safer Neighbourhood Forum — Advisories

Listed below are recent ‘advisories’ issued by the North Reading Safer Neighbourhood Forum. If you wish to receive these advisories directly by email, please <do what?>

➡ Neighbourhood Watch launches PROTECT YOUR Pa$$W0rD campaign with 3 quick and easy steps

As we spend more time at home and on our online devices, over one third (34%) of people say that they’re more concerned about cybercrime than physical crime and a startling 1 in 5 people are a victim of cybercrime! You could be more at risk than you might think.

For details, of the Protect Your Pa$$W0rD campaign, see https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/news/protect-your-paw0rd-campaign-launched

➡ RE3 Webinars on Recycling and Food Waste

RE3 are running some webinars about recycling and food waste as part of Reading Climate Festival. As RBC will be introducing a new food waste collection over the coming months you may be interested in these:

➡ Older Drivers Forum Webinars

Thames Valley Police are working with the Older Drivers Forum to run a series of free webinars aimed at older drivers, as well as their families and friends, with advice on how to drive safely for longer.

The webinars will take place next week (starting 16 November) coinciding with Brake’s National Road Safety week.

The chair and founder of the Older Drivers Forum, Rob Heard, said: “In these difficult times we wanted to be able to still communicate with the mature motorists and help them, especially when getting back to driving after the lockdown, so they can carry on driving safely for longer.

“We can all become complacent about our driving and often pick up bad habits, which if not addressed can increase our risk of an incident on the roads. This series of webinars will help give advice on a number of subjects from Confidence building appraisals to Safe driving tips.

“We hope this will be the first of many webinars we host to help and support older motorists and interested family and friends.”

To register your place for a webinar, please visit https://olderdriversforum.com/webinars/

Places are limited.

Webinars:

  • Monday 16 November – 10.30am to 11.30am – ‘Confidence building appraisals’
  • Wednesday 18 November – 10.30am to 11.30am – ‘Driving with a Medical Conditions and Eyesight advice’
  • Friday 20 November – 10.30am to 11.30am – ‘Safe Driving tips’

➡ Scam Warning — Fake Paypal Emails

Action Fraud is warning people selling items online to be on the lookout for criminals sending fake PayPal emails.

  • Between January 2020 and September 2020, 21,349 crime reports were made to Action Fraud about fake PayPal emails.
  • Victims reported losing a total of £7,891,077.44 during this time.
  • Those targeted included people selling jewellery, furniture and electronics via online marketplaces.
  • Reports of fake PayPal emails to Action Fraud made up a third of all reports of online shopping and auction fraud during this period.

How does it happen?

Criminals have been targeting people selling items online, by sending them emails purporting to be from PayPal. The emails trick victims into believing they have received payment for the items they’re selling on the platform.

Typically, after receiving these emails, victims will ship the item to the criminal. This leaves them at a further disadvantage having not received any payment for the item and also no longer being in possession of it.

How can you protect yourself?

  • Sellers beware: If you’re selling items on an online marketplace, be aware of the warning signs that your buyer is a scammer. Scammers may have negative feedback history, or may have recently set up a new account to avoid getting poor feedback. Don’t be persuaded into sending anything until you can verify you’ve received the payment.
  • Scam messages: Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to messages that ask for your personal or financial details.
  • How to spot the difference: A PayPal email will address you by your first and last name, or your business name, and will never ask you for your full password, bank account, or credit card details in a message.

If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, report it to Action Fraud online at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.