Welcome to our first, regular, weekly update on Scams. Every week (probably Fridays) I’ll share some information, news, resources and thoughts around Scams.
There’s plenty of advice and information already out there on the web. But we hope to help you find the useful and interesting stuff more easily with these weekly updates.
Keep checking back.
We’re hoping that Neighbourhood Watch Group Coordinators can help make sure that news shared here is shared further around your own Groups. Point people to this website or to our social media accounts (Twitter here and Facebook here). Or just chat to your neighbours and tell them what you’ve just read.
Scams are a menace to our communities. Now more than ever. We all need to work together to help make sure Scammers (criminals) can’t create victims of us, our family or friends or our neighbours.
We’re nearing the end of National Neighbourhood Watch Week and the theme for the week has been “celebrate your neighbours“. What better way to celebrate them than to make sure they know about scams, know how to protect themselves and don’t become victims.
Every week I’ll be blogging here and sharing information and advice. And on our private, NELwatch Network discussion website you’ll be able to join in the discussions with others about any of the topics raised in these updates.
Any questions of course get in touch to talk to Glyn or myself.
Stay safe from Scams.
Karl
Friends Against Scams
The best way we can keep ourselves and others safe against the criminals who Scam is to better understand Scamming and how to protect ourselves. The Friends Against Scams initiative from National Trading Standards is a really easy way for anyone to learn more and then to ‘take a stand against scams’.
Anyone can do it and it’s free. It does mean heading to their website here and then going through some online training. In less than 30 minutes you’ll have learned more and can sign up as a Friend Against Scams along with nearly half a million other people.
I’m a Friend Against Scams and part of my pledge is to keep telling others about Scams.
Locally we would ideally like to have at least one person in every North East Lincolnshire Neighbourhood Watch Group to do the online training and become a Friend Against Scams. Really anyone can do it. And once you’ve done it hopefully you can better look out for people around you and in your community to make sure they’re not falling victim to Scams.
All the info is here and you can start the easy online training here.
Please have a go and encourage others to do so too.
We’d really like to know how many Friends Against Scams are signing up in North East Lincolnshire, so if you do do it please drop Glyn or myself an email to let us know!
More about Scams
There are many different types of scam. It’s useful to know about these different types so you can know to identify them when you see them. The Police have updated their Little Book of Big Scams and you can download it here as a pdf.
Scams and Fraud related specifically to covid-19 and coronavirus are the latest trend of course. Read more about this trend in the National Trading Standards news here. And there’s a good guide to covid-19 scams on the OurWatch website here.
Recently there have been scams related to Track and Trace so the Police recently issued this warning information.
And finally for this week: Age UK have an excellent, simple guidebook which can help explain lots about Scams, what to look for and what to avoid. Particularly well presented for older people of course in an easy to read format. Get the .pdf here.
Please have a look at all these resources so you are keeping yourself safe from Scams. If you are part of a NWG please make sure you’re sharing this information with others in your group. If you’re not part of a NWG – why not? (but share the information with others please too). Continue the discussion around these topics on our private discussion website for NWG people here http://www.biglocalnorthcleethorpes.org.uk/nelwatchnetwork.
More next week…