Hampshire Police are warning people about three telephone scams - please warn your friends and neighbours.
In one set of phone calls, someone claims to be from a computer software company - usually Microsoft - and tells you that you have a virus on your computer which affects its performance. They then offer to fix it remotely for a fee. This is a scam! Do not give your bank details to anyone who calls with this or a similar story. If you think this may have happened to you, please call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, to report it; http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
In another series of false phone calls, individuals claim to be from Hampshire County Council and they ask residents if they have had an accident in the workplace or in a car. The County Council's Trading Standards Department suspect that these calls are 'phishing' attempts to gain personal information, and they are concerned that money may be asked for. Advice is to never give out personal information and never to pay any money over the telephone to unknown persons. Hampshire County Council will not cold call to ask for money over the telephone.
In the third scam, fraudsters have set up a bogus website claiming to be the official site of National Savings & Investments (NS&I) and are contacting members of the public, cold calling them and offering them the chance to invest in 65+ Bonds (also known as Pensioner Bonds). Members of the public who are searching for the official website (for example on search engines) may be directed to the fake one which then asks them to supply contact information. Victims are then receiving a follow up e-mail and/or phone call from the fraudsters who are requesting evidence of identity documents and bank account details either over the phone or by sending the victims fake forms to fill out. A common name that appears on the emails sent by the fraudsters is 'Kevin Archer'. Please note that the only domain name (website address) that is legitimate is www.nsandi.com and that National Savings & Investments (NS&I) do not make sales calls to potential customers (cold calls) so do not enter into discussion with cold callers claiming to be NS&I.
The Police provide this simple advice for how to avoid being a victim of fraud: Do not pass personal or banking information to companies that cold call you.
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau is committed to tackling all types of fraud and the Cyber Prevention and Disruption Team aims to do this by disrupting and taking down fake and fraudulent websites.
If you have been a victim of fraud or suspect a company of fraud please contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via the online reporting tool at www.actionfraud.police.uk
