Month: December 2017

Watch out for these scams

Posted on by admin

Looking at the latest data received from Action Fraud it is disappointing to see victims losing money to 2 telephone scams which are continuing to ‘do the rounds’ The first is from someone claiming to be from Microsoft or BT stating they have identified problems with the computer or router. The victim is then duped into downloading a piece of software (usually teamviewer) which enables the criminal to gain access to the victim’s computer. Access is then gained to the victim’s bank account and money withdrawn. The second scam involves a call from someone claiming to be from HMRC and that an outstanding tax bill is owed. The caller claims to have obtained a court order and that bailiffs are en route to collect the outstanding debt. The victim is then panicked into paying what they believe is an outstanding tax bill which of course doesn’t exist. Unfortunately the victims of these types of crime are invariably elderly. Please spread the word about these scams. The more people are aware, the more able they are to safeguard themselves. Remember the best way to protect yourselves against telephone cold calling is to purchase a call blocking device. Many new phones come with them pre-installed. In this day and age they are becoming a neccessity. Finally from all at North Yorkshire Trading Standards a very happy and ‘scam free’ Christmas and New Year.B NYP messaging logo