04 February 2011
02 February 2011
Reporting Fraud
In an emergency you should phone 999 . You should use the 999 service to contact police when you need an immediate response - if a crime is happening now or if anyone is in immediate danger.
If you have been a victim of fraud please follow the guidelines below. If you wish to report other types of crime, please see the MPS Reporting Crime page.
The Police are not the only agency with power to investigate fraud related offences; it is often difficult to determine what has happened and who to make reports to.
Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) have been set up to co-ordinate fraud investigations which may involve enquiries throughout the UK and overseas. Through this central facility, which is overseen by the City of London Police, trends and linked cases can be found and passed to the correct Police or other law enforcement organisations for investigation.
Action Fraud, the national fraud reporting centre, was set up by the National Fraud Authority to take reports of fraud from victims as well as provide support and advice. They issue a ‘Crime Reference Number’ which should be quoted in the same way as one issued by police.
Reports received by Action Fraud are fed into the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau , the central facility overseen by City of London Police to coordinate fraud investigation. The NFIB analyses information from Action Fraud and other sources to create intelligence packages of trends and linked cases to be sent to the appropriate police or other law enforcement organisations for investigation.
Reporting Fraud Related offences
The advice sections within the Fraud Alert web pages above may help to understand what has happened to you and be of use before making a report. Further advice is available from Action Fraud.
Special arrangements apply to the fraudulent use of Credit Cards, Bank Debit Cards, Cheques and Bank Accounts. See item 2 below. See below also for information about Trading Standards, Consumer issues, on-line and Vehicle related fraud.
Fraud and Scams
If you are a victim of Fraud, often also referred to as ‘scams’, you should make a report.
The National Fraud Reporting Centre Action Fraud is available to report fraud offences on line or by phone.
Local Police should take a formal report of fraud in the following circumstances:
- Where the person suspected of committing the crime can be easily identified.
- Where the person reporting or the victim is vulnerable.
- Where the crime is in progress.
Victims of fraud often believe that they know the person who has defrauded them because of what they have been told by mail, phone or over the internet.
- Fraudsters use technology to hide their true whereabouts and identity.
- All information that they have provided about themselves may be false.
- Action Fraud will accept reports from overseas where money has been lost and there is a clear link to the UK. A report to local Police should also be made. A report to your local Police in your country should also be made.
See the left side of this page for Metropolitan Police Stations or Police.uk for the contact points for all UK Police organisations.
Credit Cards, Bank Debit Cards, Cheques and Bank Accounts
If your Credit Card, Bank Debit Card, Cheques or Bank details have been used by fraudsters, your bank or other financial Institution must be informed, they make a report to Action Fraud. However, if your Bank or Financial Institution will not reimburse you, or your bank has instructed you to, a report must be made, as above.
If you have lost or had stolen any of the above items, a separate report must be made to Police.
Trading Standards and Consumer issues
If you have a dispute or complaint about something that you have bought in a shop, by mail order or via the internet, or want some consumer advice, contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 or via their web site. Consumer direct handles initial complaints on behalf of Trading Standards.
eMails, on-Line and Web Sites
If you have been the victim of a fraud by answering an advert on line, this should be reported as above. It must also be reported to the web site concerned, unless you believe that the whole site may be fraudulent. If you believe that an advert that you have seen is suspicious, report your suspicions to the web site. Many sites allow you to do this as part of the advert.
If you have received a ‘phishing’ email, and have not lost money,
- Report bank related ‘phishing’ emails to Bank Safe OnLine or by email to: reports@banksafeonline.org.uk
- Reports related to Paypal or eBay should be sent to spoof@paypal.co.uk and spoof@ebay.co.uk respectively.
30 January 2011
Not a Scare more a Caution
50 million viruses and rising
There were nearly 20 million new pests in 2010 alone. 
Source: av-test.org IT security lab AV-Test registered the 50 millionth new entry into its malware repository this morning at 5:06 GMT. The malware in question is a PDF file which exploits a security hole in Adobe Reader to infect Windows systems. It hasn't been given a name yet because it hasn't been fully identified. So far, only the heuristics of Authentium, Eset, F-Prot, Kaspersky and McAfee have issued a generic message such as: "HEUR:Exploit.Script.Generic". With other anti-virus programs, it can only be hoped that the behaviour recognition will kick in if the user does open the file.
This new item of malware confirms the trend that attackers trying to infect PCs no longer use mainly the security holes in operating systems or browsers as their point of entry. Instead, malware authors are focussing on third party applications. Apart from Adobe Reader, they particularly target Flash plug-ins and Java. If an obsolete version of one of these programs with known security holes is installed, it makes easy prey of the computer in question. The H Update Check can be used to test whether the most important Windows programs have been updated to the current version.
The absolute figures are slightly misleading because they refer to what is called "unique samples". A file with a single changed bit is counted as a new sample even if the behaviour of the malware hasn't changed. As the smallest modifications are often enough to trick signature-based detection mechanisms, malware authors tend to literally swamp the net with variations which offer the same functionality.
See also:
- 25 years of PC viruses and copy protection, a report from The H.
28 January 2011
Latest CRP News
26 January 2011
Conference exposes government's lack of crime reduction strategy
Delegates at a top-level conference last week were told that the government lacks a coherent crime reduction strategy and the Home Office lacks leadership in key areas of public safety. Read more here
25 January 2011
'Wet zone' proposed to keep drunks off the streets
Drunks in Colchester, Essex, could be given a 'wet zone' under plans to let them drink in public. At present street-drinkers in in the town are regularly moved on from public areas by police - only to return shortly afterwards. Read more here
25 January 2011
Drink tagging will help identify 'proxy' booze purchasers
Shops in parts of Dundee have started tagging bottles of alcohol as part of a police plan to cut underage drinking levels but identifying the adults who are buying alcohol for kids. Read more here
24 January 2011
83% tell government: 'drinking is out of control'
Two-thirds of the public believe the amount of alcohol people drink in Britain is out of control, according to Home Office research. Read more here
24 January 2011
UK-wide 'booze ASBO' helped Laura turn her life around
Laura Hall became the first person in Britain to be given a nationwide ASBO last April after running up a staggering 29 alcohol-related convictions. But the school dropout has now been alcohol-free for six months - and is confident she is off the demon drink for good. Read more here
24 January 2011
Simple sign reduces bike theft to zero
A pub in Cambridge plagued by bike crime has cut down on thefts dramatically with just a simple sign. Read more here
23 January 2011
CCTV debate: motorists' views
For the last 25 years CCTV has proliferated into public spaces across the UK, but is it going too far to use cameras to give parking tickets and enforce bus lane rules? The issue of CCTV is to be taken up by the government in its upcoming Freedom Bill. At the Queen's Speech it was promised the measures would be aimed at "protecting privacy by introducing new legislation to regulate the use of CCTV". Read more here
20 January 2011
Crime falls 7% in last year, and 'perception of crime' is down too
According to the British Crime Survey, recorded crime in England and Wales fell 7% in the year to the end of September 2010. All main categories of crime saw reductions, except sexual offences. The same figures also indicate a growing perception among respondents that 'perceived' crime levels are falling too. Read more here
16 January 2011
Scottish government outline plans to unify police forces
Plans for major Scottish police service reforms, including moving to a single Scottish force, have been outlined by Scotland's Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. Read more here
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OPINION
Read our opinions on key crime reduction issues...
Devolve justice to local, community level
At last there's a real opportunity to do something practical about voters' demand for local action on crime reduction. If the government is serious about the Big Society, it must enable small communities to take the lead in crime reduction. It's practical, effective, and cheap...
Click here to read more, and to add your comments
New documents recently added
20 April 2010
Report on 'No Arrest' policy claims benefits for local traders
Click here to read it
6 April 2010
Engagement and Support Orders
Click here to read it
28 November 2009
The Guide to Data Protection
Click here to read it
8 October 2009
New guidelines on ASBO reporting restrictions
Click here to read it
31 July 2009
Listening to young people
Click here to read it
Events
15 March 2011
Is Big Society a Partnership? Alcohol, Partnership and Evidence
This conference aims to provide attendees with up-to-date information on Government thinking and enable key players in the drinks industry to share their reactions to it....More
16 May 2011
IFSEC 2011
IFSEC is the world's leading annual security event, attracting more than 22,000 security professionals and 600 world-leading companies....More
July 2011
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watch sites
Useful Links
- Yahoo Freecyle link
- Haringey Federation of Residents Associations
- Haringey Federation of Residents Associations
- Haringey Community & Police Consultative Forum
- Immobilise- the worlds largest possession ownership register.
- Hillfield Park
- Contact the Elderly
- Welcome to North London - Property search and inward investment in North London
- North London Chorus
- Transport for London homepage - Transport for London
