Public Transport

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Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

Fraudsters have been advertising vehicles and machinery for sale on various selling platforms online. The victims, after communicating via email with the fraudster, will receive a bogus email which purports to be from an established escrow provider (a third party who will keep the payment until the buying and selling parties are both happy with the deal).

These emails are designed to persuade victims to pay upfront, via bank transfer, before visiting the seller to collect the goods. The emails also claim that the buyer (victim) has a cooling off period to reclaim the payment if they change their mind. This gives victims the false sense of security that their money is being looked after by this trustworthy third party, when in fact it is not and the money has gone straight to the fraudster.

Protect yourself:  •When making a large purchase such as a new car or machinery, always meet the seller face to face first and ask to see the goods before transferring any money.

•If you receive a suspicious email asking for payment, check for spelling, grammar, or any other errors, and check who sent the email. If in doubt, check feedback online by searching the associated phone numbers or email addresses of the seller.

•Contact the third party the fraudsters are purporting to be using to make the transaction. They should be able to confirm whether the email you have received is legitimate or not.

•False adverts often offer vehicles or machinery for sale well below market value to entice potential victims; always be cautious. If it looks too good to be true then it probably is.

If you have been affected by this, or any other type of fraud, report it to Action Fraud by visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk, or by calling 0300 123 2040.

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Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

With the upcoming “Wedding Season”, and for those individuals who are considering making plans for next year and beyond, you should be aware of the potential risks of fraud involved. 

According to ‘bridesmagazine.co.uk’, in 2017 the average wedding cost spend is approximately £30,111.  This will be paid out to multiple vendors, including; photographers, caterers, reception venues and travel companies, to name a few.  Many of these services will require booking at least several months in advance and you may be obliged to pay a deposit or even the full balance at the time. 

Being aware of the potential risks and following the below prevention advice could minimise the likelihood of fraud:

Paying by Credit Card will provide you with protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, for purchases above £100 and below £30,000. This means that even if a Company goes into liquidation before your big day, you could claim a refund through your Credit Card Company.

Social Media - Some Companies run their businesses entirely via social media sites, offering low cost services.  Whilst many are genuine, some may not be insured or may even be fraudulent. There are a few things you can do to protect yourself;

• Ensure you obtain a physical address and contact details for the vendor and verify this information.  Should you experience any problems, you will then be able to make a complaint to Trading Standards or consider pursuing via the Small Claims Court.

• Ensure you obtain a contract before paying money for services.  Make certain you fully read and understand what you are signing and note the terms of cancellation.

Consider purchasing Wedding Insurance - Policies vary in cover and can be purchased up to two years in advance.  They can protect you from events that would not be covered under the Consumer Credit Act.

Complete research on each vendor, ensuring you are dealing with a bona fide person or company.  Explore the internet for reviews and ratings and ask the vendor to provide details of past clients you can speak to. You should do this even if using companies recommended by a trustworthy friend or source.  

For services such as wedding photographers, beware of websites using fake images. Look for inconsistencies in style; Meet the photographer in person and ask to view sample albums. If you like an image from a wedding, ask to view the photographs taken of the whole event so you can see the overall quality.   

Remember, if something appears too good to be true, it probably is!

This is a message sent via WMNow. This information has been sent on behalf of West Mids Police.

At a time like this is it understandable that people may be wondering what they can do to protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities.

Preventing attacks before they occur is the ultimate goal. Information is crucial to help us achieve this goal, and for that we need you.

What better way to protect yourself and others than to help prevent it from happening in the first place?

We are asking all our local businesses, community centres, and other organisations to acquaint themselves with Project Griffin and find out how they may Protect themselves, their staff, their business and their community. 

Please follow this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/project-griffin/project-griffin

Thank you

To report an incident to the police call 101 or 999 in case of emergency.

Email: Ladywood@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk

Twitter: @LadywoodPolice

This is a message sent via WMNow. This information has been sent on behalf of West Mids Police.

We remain deeply shocked following last night’s tragic incident in Manchester and all our thoughts are with those affected.

Greater Manchester Police continue with their investigation – at this stage there are no known links between the perpetrator and the West Midlands. We continue to liaise with GMP to establish if there are any victims from our area.

Here in the West Midlands, we are focusing on providing the most appropriate policing response over the coming days. The threat level nationally remains severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. Tragic events like last night’s explosion in Manchester remind us that attacks can occur at any time or place without warning.

Everyone needs to be vigilant – be alert, not alarmed. As ever, we ask the public to be our eyes and ears. If something doesn’t feel right, call us. We act on every piece of information, no click or call will be ignored, we will only take action after appropriate checks have been carried out.

As we saw last night, terrorists wait for those moments when we’re not looking – that’s why vigilance and awareness of everyone is key to combatting terrorism.

There are many ways you can report – through local police on 101 or in an emergency 999, via the Anti Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 and online you can click on the red button on the West Midlands Police website to report online terrorist and extremist material.

Locally our West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit continues to work with national security services to keep our region safe. This includes playing a key role in stopping people getting drawn into terrorism and violent extremism in all forms. 

It is really important for us all to remember that acts of terrorism and hate crimes are committed by a small minority of people and those people do not represent the public. This is a time for us all to work closely together and unite against those who seek, through violence and extremism, to intimidate or cause fear.  

Looking forward to the weekend, Birmingham plays host to Pride which is a large lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender event and we’re expecting tens of thousands of visitors to the city. This is an annual event with a parade, music and festivities which are enjoyed by many.

I appreciate that people planning to attend may feel a sense of nervousness – I would like to take this opportunity to give you some reassurance that a full policing operation is in place and is subject to ongoing reviews.

We will have a large number of police officers, specials and police staff on hand to keep the public safe – this isn’t only for the Pride event, but also for anyone visiting the city to enjoy all it has to offer.

This is a message sent via WMNow. This information has been sent on behalf of West Mids Police

Following an extensive investigation into claims that a 12 year old girl was abducted outside Pedmore Technology College & Community School last week, West Midlands Police can now confirm that the allegation was false. 

The 12 year old girl reported to police that she had been dragged into a taxi by four men, as she left school in Stourbridge, on Thursday the 18th of May.

Detectives spent countless hours trawling CCTV cameras in and around the area in a bid to identify the vehicle and any offenders. 

Detective Sergeant Matt Slattery of West Midlands Police Force CID has said: "Incidents of child abduction are thankfully rare, but any reports of such are rigorously investigated" and any bogus accounts will be quickly uncovered."

He added: "Detectives responded in the way people would expect when faced with a report of a child being abducted. However, as the enquiry progressed, it quickly became clear the incident had not happened in the way it was described to us."

The Stourbridge Neighbourhood Policing Team took a number of calls from nearby schools early Friday morning, after they had become aware of the allegation. Advice was given however West Midlands Police did not see the need to cause fear amongst parents. The investigation was in the early stages and there were doubts as to the legitimacy of the allegation. However some schools did inform parents of the abduction allegation. This was quickly spread across social media and West Midlands Police made a short press release.

There was some criticism of the schools and Police, on social media, for not informing parents of the allegation earlier. An opinion was formed that there was no need to cause parents unnecessary panic. Now that it has been confirmed that the girl was not abducted, the Stourbridge Neighbourhood Policing Team would like to reassure parents that your children were not considered to be in any danger on Friday.

Social media is very powerful however can unfortunately, on occasion, spread inaccurate information. I urge you to follow official West Midlands Police Facebook and Twitter pages for up to date, accurate information and not believe everything you reads in the comments boxes of posts made.

Please note that information from the public is essential in preventing and detecting crime. If you wish to give any information to the police you can do so anonymously by ringing CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111.

Regards

Police Sergeant 20067 Nick Slym
West Midlands Police
Dudley Neighbourhood Policing Unit
Stourbridge Neighbourhood Policing Team
Stourbridge Police Station

This is a message sent via WMNow. This information has been sent on behalf of West Mids Police

Message sent by

Gary Monckton (Police, PC, Ladywood)

West Midlands Police are aware that members of the travelling community are currently camped on grassed land off Spring Hill on Clissold Passage.

Officers have been engaging with the group since there arrival and are in liaison with Birmingham City Council who own the land.

Appropriate notices to vacate the land have been served by Birmingham City Council, with the support of West Midlands Police officers, this afternoon.

The situation will be monitored and appropriate action taken to remove the encampment upon expiry of the notice if the land is not vacated as instructed.

If you have concerns about this matter please contact us as below:

• In case of Emergency dial 999
• For non-emergency matters call 101

If would like to pass us information about this matter but do not necessarily require the police attend please email winsongreen@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk

Message sent by

Gary Monckton (Police, PC, Ladywood)

Good Morning,

we have learnt that overnight a large group of travellers has left a site within Birmingham, with more to follow, and will likely today be looking for a new site.

We have no direct evidence or information to suggest they are coming to Ladywood.

However, we advise that any persons who have large spaces of land potentially attractive to travelling groups take measures to secure their property and prevent any unwanted trespass.

Best Regards,

Ladywood Neighbourhood Team

Message sent by

Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

Fraudsters are sending out a high volume of phishing emails to personal and business email addresses, pretending to come from various email addresses, which have been compromised.

The subject line contains the recipient’s name, and the main body of text is as below:

“Hi, [name]!

I am disturbing you for a very serious reason. Although we are not familiar, but I have significant amount of individual info concerning you. The thing is that, most likely mistakenly, the data of your account has been emailed to me.

For instance, your address is:

[real home address]

I am a law-abiding citizen, so I decided to personal data may have been hacked. I attached the file – [surname].dot that I received, that you could explore what info has become obtainable for scammers. File password is – 2811

Best Wishes,”

The emails include an attachment – a ‘.dot’ file usually titled with the recipient’s name.

This attachment is thought to contain the Banking Trojan Ursniff/Gozi, hidden within an image in the document. The Ursniff Banking Trojan attempts to obtain sensitive data from victims, such as banking credentials and passwords. The data is subsequently used by criminals for monetary gain.

Protect Yourself:

Having up-to-date virus protection is essential; however it will not always prevent your device(s) from becoming infected.

Please consider the following actions:

• Don’t click on links or open any attachments you receive in unsolicited emails or SMS messages:Remember that fraudsters can ‘spoof’ an email address to make it look like one used by someone you trust. If you are unsure, check the email header to identify the true source of communication (you can find out how by searching the internet for relevant advice for your email provider).
• Do not enable macros in downloads; enabling macros will allow Trojan/malware to be installed onto your device.
• Always install software updates as soon as they become available. Whether you are updating the operating system or an application, the update will often include fixes for critical security vulnerabilities.
• Create regular backups of your important files to an external hard drive, memory stick or online storage provider. It is important that the device you back up to is not connected to your computer as any malware infection could spread to that as well.
• If you think your bank details have been compromised, you should contact your bank immediately.

If you have been affected by this or any other fraud, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk.

Message sent by

Paul Jackson (Police, PCSO, Wolverhampton, Bilston)

Dear Resident's,

A number of reports have been made to police regarding vehicle crime.

Please ensure you do not leave valuables on show when leaving your vehicle.

Regards

PCSO 30358

Paul Jackson

Bilston Police Station

Contact number 101 ext 8871 3270

Message sent by

Lisa Houghton (Police Staff, Engagement Officer, Birmingham)

Following the terrible incidents in London yesterday, our thoughts are with those who have been affected.

Overnight our colleagues from the Metropolitan Police have searched a number of addresses across the country and have made a number of arrests in connection with the incident, including addresses in Birmingham.

The arrests and searches were intelligence led and there was no immediate risk to public safety.

We would like to reassure our communities that we have extra officers out on patrol throughout the next few days to offer reassurance and address any concerns you may have.

We are keen to stress that this additional security is not based on any new or emerging intelligence. The security threat level nationally remains unchanged at Severe meaning an attack is highly likely.

As ever the public are urged to remain alert and not alarmed. Everyone is advised to be vigilant and to report any concerns to the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321. In an emergency, always dial 999.

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, who leads on counter terrorism for the force, said: Suspicious activity is anything that seems out of place, unusual or just doesn’t seem to fit in with day-to-day life - Let us decide if it is important.

“We work tirelessly to counter terrorism. Our absolute priority is to ensure the safety and security of the people who live, work and visit the West Midlands area.

“Our policing tactics and security measures are being reviewed on a daily basis - we, along with our partners, are working around the clock to keep Birmingham and our other cities as safe as can be."

Kind Regards,

Birmingham Partnerships

Outstanding Citizens 2017

This is a message sent via WMNow. This information has been sent on behalf of West Mids Police.

Message sent by Emma Bromley (Police Staff, Partnerships Engagement Officer, Birmingham )

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has launched the Outstanding Citizen Awards 2017

There are three categories:

• Outstanding Citizen
• Young Outstanding Citizen
• Outstanding Community Project

The deadline for nominations is 17th April 2017, further information can be found on the PCC Website

http://westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/key-issues/outstanding-citizens-2017/

Funding Opportunity for community groups - National Express Foundation

This is a message sent via WMNow. This information has been sent on behalf of West Mids Police

Message sent by Emma Bromley (Police Staff, Partnerships Engagement Officer, Birmingham )

Please see below a link to the National Express webpage, this is a funding opportunity for community groups to apply for funding through the National Express Foundation.

Please feel free to share with your community contacts accordingly.

http://www.nationalexpressgroup.com/our-way/national-express-foundation/

Thank you.

System Admin Update: Phishing email claiming to be from Alert

This is a message sent via WMNow. This information has been sent on behalf of System Administrators

(Please do not reply or forward this email directly; please use the Reply, Share buttons at the bottom of this message)

Message sent by Mike Douglas (VISAV, Product Director, Global)

This is a System Administrator message to hopefully put your mind at rest if you have received a recent spam / phishing email that purported to be from the Neighbourhood Alert system this week. (If you have not received the email in question then this email can safely be disregarded and deleted.).  Neighbourhood Alert is the system that powers https://www.wmnow.co.uk.

Incident details:

Around the 7th February a NON Alert email was sent from email domain @lepmieseorthy.blowquest.com to an unknown number of recipients. The email looked like the inserted image and contained links to a phishing website.

This email was NOT sent on Alert but the sender included in the email name “on behalf of Neighborhood Alert” (Note: they did not spell Neighbourhood in correct English).

The email was not otherwise disguised as an Alert email and in no way touched our systems.

You probably did not receive this email as many email anti-virus systems blocked it anyway.

How did they get your email?

If you did receive this spam email then please be assured it was most probably sent to millions of email addresses, most of which can be “trawled” from social media sites and website listings.  Your email address certainly did NOT come from the Alert system.

If you are not convinced of this, please be aware that registration on most social media sites does mean that your data can be used, sold and shared.  If your data has ever existed on any website, this information is often “cached” and available in searched for years.

Various services available online demonstrate that your imprint on the internet and across social media is available at a price, for example: http://www.spokeo.com/email-search (Please view this site but we are not recommending that you pay for any results).

We are not trying to alarm you, it is simply important that you are aware of the risks when sharing your information and when you receive email from unknown sources or, as in this case, when they claim to be from a source you do trust.  Please be assured that your Neighbourhood Alert presence is fully encrypted and we can never sell or publicise your data including usage patterns, responses or email addresses.

Various follow up messages have been sent on Alert to warn people in some areas about the original scam but these have inadvertently caused some confusion.

Just to clarify:

NO fraudulent, scam, phishing or any other sort of illegal email has EVER been sent out on the Neighbourhood Alert system.

No one has ever managed to hack into Alert or exploit any of the user data.

We do not and cannot sell or share your data and unlike systems like Facebook, Twitter, nextdoor, streetlife of any other commercial operations we are regulated by explicit police data sharing and processing contracts.

I am sorry for any concern or frustration caused by the follow up messages, please be assured that we take security, reputation, and safety very seriously. We have a fully contracted Senior CESG accredited consultant who overseas our procedures, systems and hardware, we are accredited to the Home Office recommended Cyber Essentials Plus standard and operate to all relevant good practice guides.

To summarise: no one has accessed Alert or any of the user data, the original email in question has been reported to Action Fraud and is nothing to do with Neighbourhood Alert.

If you received a warning on Alert about the scam email then this is perfectly safe, contains no dangerous links and you have nothing to worry about.

It would be helpful, if you did receive the original email (which looks like the image above), if you could report it (or any other spam or phising emails) to Action Fraud on https://reportlite.actionfraud.police.uk/ or by calling 0300 123 2040

Further advice

You will find links to advice about how to identify when an email is authentic and what to look out for on this page in our Help Centre:

Finally, Thank you for your ongoing participation, please remember that rating and forwarding these messages (using the buttons below) is vital for the continued success and improvement of the system.

Very best regards

Mike Douglas

Director: Neighbourhood Alert

It's a new year and spring will soon be upon us. It’s coming up to that time of year where people go on holiday. Unattended properties may be vulnerable to burglaries.

Please see the Burglary Prevention advice attached to safeguard your home.

Why not also let Ladywood Neighbourhood Police Team know when you will be going away to enable officers to include the locations on their daily patrols.

To pass your holiday dates please complete the attached form and either email to the Ladywood email account, post at the station or contact the team to collect. These details will be kept in confidence and once holiday dates have expired the holiday form will be destroyed.

Ladywood Neighbourhood Team
Summerfield Police Station
Icknield Port Rd
Birmingham
B16 0DA

Tel 101 Ext 8626051
Email Ladywood@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk
Twitter @LadywoodPolice
www.west-midlands.police.uk

Please do not report crime via social media accounts or email. To report a crime please dial 101. In case of emergency please dial 999.

Note: The forms and additional advice is available by clicking the link below.

Do you like cricket? Could you be a big hitter like AB de Villiers or a master wicket keeper like MS Dhoni? Or maybe you want to be a champion fast bowler like Dwayne Bravo?

Then why don’t you join the Shireland Collegiate Academy Street Cricket sessions on Saturday between 12pm-2pm.

If you are in Year 4, 5 or 6 and would like to attend these workshops then please ask for a registration form from the office. Closing date for applications is FRIDAY 10^TH FEBRUARY 2017!

Click on the link below for more information.

Open Evening is Tuesday 20th September 2016 – 4.00pm – 7.00pm. For all prospective Year 6 pupils and parents!