CENTRAL SCOTLAND POLICE
The 67-year-old was taken by three men to a cash point for payment that was never done.
The trio had turned up at the man’s house in Marchmont Avenue, Polmont, between Monday October 3 and Saturday October 8.
A Central Scotland Police spokeswoman said: “One of the men even took the elderly man to the bank to withdraw money. We strongly urge householders to turn cold callers away. If you are needing work done to your house then get quotes from reputable tradesmen and don’t rely on those who cold call.
“No reliable tradesman will take the customer to the bank to withdraw funds. Under no circumstances should payment be made until the job is completed – unless by prior arrangement when a contract has been signed. Always bear in mind that there is a cooling off period should you wish to change your mind. Full details can be obtained from your local trading standards officer.”
Police are keen to trace the three men. One is described as being around 5’7” tall with short blond hair which was spiked into the centre. He was wearing a black top with multi-coloured logos or badges with blue jeans.
The second man was described as being around 6ft tall and was wearing a dark hooded parka-style jacket.
The third man was said to have brown short hair and was around 5’8” tall.
POLICE are appealing for information after an 18-year-old man was assaulted as he walked along Main Street in Bainsford
The incident occurred around 10.10pm on Saturday October 15.
Police are keen to trace two men believed to be responsible for the assault. One was described as being around 5’6” tall, had short fair hair and was wearing a blue top.
METAL thieves are targeting drain covers in Falkirk and Stirling.
Nine have been taken since the end of September. The most recent theft was from near to the Carronbride Hotel, Carronbridge sometime around Monday October 10.
Two were taken from the B8028 Shieldhill Road, Glenburn in Falkirk around Sunday September 25, one was stolen from Dunure Street in Bonnybridge around Friday September 23 and five were removed from Wholeflats Road in Grangemouth sometime around Thursday September 22.
A CAR was found on fire in Rannoch Road, Grangemouth, and police are appealing for information
The blaze was discovered around 1.30am on Monday October 17 and is being treating the fire as suspicious.
DIESEL was stolen from three buses parked in Alloa.
The theft occurred sometime between Friday October 7 and Monday October 10 when the buses were parked outside the Whins Rescource Centre in Whins Road, Alloa.
FIVE garages were broken into in Tillicoultry and police are appealing for information.
The garages, situated to the rear of Ochilview Road, were broken into sometime between 5pm on Sunday October 16 and 10.30am on Monday October 17.
DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY POLICE
Thousands of pounds of copper cable has been stolen from radio mast north of Annan near Spitalriddinghill sometime since February 2011.
The copper cable is valued somewhere between £1000 and £2000.
WINDOW in a Ford Ranger jeep was smashed while it was parked in Polveoch Road in Kelloholm sometime overnight Monday 17/Tuesday 18 October 2011.
A WINDOW at the Family Project in Greystone Avenue in Kelloholm has been smashed sometime overnight Monday 17/Tuesday 18 October 2011.
A HOUSE at The Bogue in Creetown has been broken into and a quantity of money in £1 coins and 5p coins stolen sometime between Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 October 2011.
The coins were contained in collecting jars.
A BLUE Ford Mondeo had a window smashed while parked in Kingholm Road in Dumfries sometime overnight Tuesday 18/Wednesday 19 October 2011.
TWO windows at the Swan Hotel in Kingholm Quay were smashed sometime overnight Tuesday 18/Wednesday 19 October 2011.
A PENSIONER was injured after being hit by a car in a supermarket car park.
The driver of the blue car failed to stop after reversing into the 86-year-old woman at the Cooperative store in Glenesk Road in Langholm.
The woman was taken to the Cumberland Infirmary by ambulance where she was treated for a dislocated shoulder.
The accident occurred sometime around 12.15am on Wednesday 19 October. Police are appealing to anyone who may have been in the car park to get in touch if they saw anything which may assist in identifying the blue car and its driver.
A SUZUKI Vitara car was vandalised while parked in the Park House car park at the Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries sometime between 2am and 9.30am on Wednesday 19 October 2011.
THREE children’s bikes have been stolen from the garden of a house in Lockhart Gardens in Annan sometime between 6.30pm on Monday 17 and 1pm on Wednesday 19 October 2011.
The girl’s bike is a pink Apollo mountain bike, while the boy’s bike is black and orange coloured the third bike is black and looks like a small motorbike.
THREE cars were vandalised overnight Tuesday 18/Wednesday 19 October in Sanquhar.
A white Ford Transit van, a blue Volvo car and a gold Fiat Punto car were all vandalised while parked in West Lochan.
FIFE POLICE
A WOMAN has been arrested after £14,000 of drugs were found in Lochgelly.
The 29-year-old reported to the Procurator Fiscal, Dunfermline in relation to offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
PC Christopher Dow, who led the operation, said: “This is a recovery of a significant quantity of drugs which has only been possible due to the awareness and input of members of the public.
“It is important that members of the public remain vigilant and contact Police with any information they have.
“We will continue to target drug dealers in our local communities, reducing the harmful effect of these substances and the subsequent detrimental impact they have on the wider community”
GRAMPIAN POLICE
POLICE are appealing for witnesses following the attempted robbery of a female dog walker at the rear of Fresh Catch, Kirk Street, Peterhead.
The incident took place about 2pm on Monday 17 October 2011, during this time a male approached the female and grabbed her handbag. After a short altercation, the male and another male in his company left the area on pushbikes. Nothing was stolen and the female was uninjured.
Constable Caie, of Peterhead Pro-Active units said ‘I would appeal to the local community for their help in identifying the males responsible in this incident. This happened during the afternoon and in a busy area of Peterhead. I am keen to speak to anyone who was in the area and may have witnessed the incident or saw anything or anyone they believe to be suspicious.’
The first male is described as being about 5 foot in height, wearing a green camouflage jacket with an orange logo/insignia. He was wearing blue jeans.
The second male is described as being 5 foot 8 in height and wearing dark clothing.
Almost 100 sheep have been stolen from a farm in Aberdeenshire.
The 45 ewes and 40 lambs were noticed missing from Home Farm Clova, near Lumsden when the farmer counted his flock on October 15.
The animals were kept on a 200 acre piece of land and were part of a larger flock.
The stolen sheep stolen are worth thousands of pounds and police are keen to hear from anyone who may have any information about the theft or who saw anything suspicious in the area.
THIEVES made off with cash after breaking into a property in Mid Street, Fraserburgh.
The incident occurred between 5pm on Friday 14 October and 7am on Saturday 15 October.
POLICE are looking for witnesses after a woman pushing a pram was hit by a bus.
The accident occurred at 1.55pm on Wednesday 19 October 2011 on Victoria Road, Aberdeen at Torry Bridge.
The woman was wearing a brown jacket with a fur hood.
Constable Gavin Haigh said “This incident occurred during the day and it is likely persons in the area would have witnessed it.
“I am appealing to anyone who saw this incident and may know the identity of the female involved to get in touch”
HUNDREDS of pounds of property has been stolen from cars in Aberdeen.
The vehicles were broken into overnight on Monday 17 October 2011. Items valued at a high three figure sum were stolen including a Sat Nav system and a purse containing various cards.
Grampian Police remind car owners to ensure their vehicles are locked and all valuables removed.
LOTHIAN AND BORDERS POLICE
A WOMAN has been killed after being hit by a vehicle on Tuesday night.
A MAN has been injured after being robbed at knifepoint.
The 34-year-old was walking home between 1.20pm and 1.35pm on Thursday 13 October and was climbing the steps of Bathgate High Church when three men approached and grabbed hold of him.
Two of the men then presented knives and demanded the man hand over his possessions.
A struggle ensued and the victim suffered cuts to his face and arms before the men made off with his cash.
Detectives carried out local enquiries to identify those responsible and are now urging anyone who was in the area at the time and saw anything suspicious to come forward.
The first suspect is described as white, 5ft 10 inches tall with a medium build and short greying hair. He was wearing blue jeans and dark brown timberland boots.
The second suspect is described as white, 6ft tall with dirty blond hair. He was wearing a dark blue tracksuit and trainers.
There is currently no description of the third suspect.
A police spokesman said: “The victim suffered some painful cuts during the robbery, but thankfully was not seriously injured.
“Officers are now keen to speak with anyone who was in Jarvey Street at the time of the incident and may have witnessed the attack or who may have saw the suspects in the area.
“Anyone with information that can assist with our investigation is asked to contact police immediately.”
NORTHERN CONSTABULARY
POLICE are appealing for any new information regarding a vandalism that occurred at The Transerve Scotland yard, Totescore, Isle of Skye.
Damage was caused to windows in a portable building which was situated within the yard.
The vandalism occurred sometime between the beginning of July 2011 and the 14 July 2011.
Human remains have been found on a beach in Lochinver.
Police received a call around 2.50pm on Wednesday from a member of the public who believed they had found human body parts on the beach at Stoer Bay.
Police enquiries are ongoing to identify the remains, after which further details will be released.
MEDICATION has been lost either the Kirkwall or Rendall area of Orkney on Tuesday 18 October 2011.
If this is found please hand it into your nearest Police station or pharmacy. Prescribed medication may be harmful if ingested by children or by someone other than for whom it has been prescribed.
TAYSIDE POLICE
TAYSIDE Police is issuing a stark warning to public. If you give out personal banking information over the phone you could risk losing thousands of pounds in cash.
The warning comes after an elderly couple in Perth were scammed out of £60,000 by bogus callers purporting to be from their bank. Enquiries are continuing into this crime and both Central Scotland Police and Strathclyde Police are understood to be investigating similar incidents in their areas.
Detective Inspector Caroline Lindsay, based in the Criminal Investigation Department in Perth said: ”This case highlights what happens when information gets into the wrong hands. Fraudsters will use personal information about you to lull you into thinking they are officials from your bank, encouraging you to part with more personal details and even your bank PIN number. We are urging everyone to be on their guard. Your bank or the police will never cold call you or email you and ask you for your login details, cards or PIN numbers. If anyone does, they are probably a criminal so hang up the phone and let us know.”
National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, supported by the Scottish Business Crime Centre, is running until the 23 October to alert people and businesses to the threat of identity fraud at home and at work. For the seventh year running, the campaign brings together partners from both the private and public sector, providing a broad range of expertise and resources to help consumers and businesses protect themselves against identity fraud.
According to research commissioned by Fellowes exclusively for the campaign, although 95% of the UK population are now aware of the threat and risks of identity fraud, the number of victims is still rising as people continue to be careless with their identities. 7% of the UK population have been victims of identity fraud, equating to over 4 million people.
Statistics from CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, reported that the number of identity fraud cases declared to the authorities in the UK continue to rise, with over 80,000 reported in the UK so far this year. Research shows us that as the risk is rising, UK citizens are not taking enough care of their personal details:
- A quarter of us (25%) are still not taking simple yet key precautions such as shredding bills and bank statements before putting them in the bin
- Only 57% of those surveyed verify emails or calls from organisations before responding
- 46% wouldn’t report a lost driving licence or passport straight away
- 59% do not follow up when mail fails to arrive and just 13% regularly check their credit rating
- Encouragingly, 83% of the UK public check for unfamiliar transactions on bills and statements and 86% have security software on their home computer so in some areas consumers are being more vigilant.
Complacency extends to online activities as well, with 88% of people who use social networking sites having shared information that could be used to commit identity fraud such as their address or date of birth. Furthermore, only 18% of those interviewed said they were concerned about sharing information on or the security risk of social networking sites, with 10% sharing information about others that could then be used to assume their identities.
When it comes to identity fraud, prevention is always key. Some easy ways for individuals to protect themselves include:
- Always checking for unfamiliar transactions on bank statements
- Shredding all documents containing sensitive information using a cross cut shredder before throwing them away
- Looking into mail that goes missing
- Carrying out regular personal credit report checks
- Redirecting post for at least six months when moving house
- Limiting the amount of information shared when using social networking sites.
Jamey Johnson, Head of Action Fraud, the national fraud reporting and advice centre, said,
”Stealing an identity is just the beginning for a fraudster. With few details, accounts can be taken over, loans can be applied for and purchases can be made, all without the consent or knowledge of the individual, potentially costing the victim substantial sums of money.
”Limiting access to your personal information is the key to safety from ID fraud. Remember, personal details are as valuable as cash to a fraudster.”
Andrea Davis, president of Fellowes Europe, added: ”No-one can afford to be complacent about ID fraud, everyone is at risk, whether young or old. It is important to ensure that you are not delivering your information straight into the hands of fraudsters. The risk is very real – both off and online – and we should all be taking steps to protect our identities. It is worrying that one in four people may be literally throwing their identities away and a huge number of people are sharing sensitive information on line. Simple steps like shredding sensitive information, being careful about the information you share online and generally being cautious about giving out your personal details will help to keep your identity safe.”
Simon Ellson, Norton by Symantec’s internet security expert, said: ”This year the internet and its ever-evolving nature has continued to inspire criminals who commit ID fraud. Just as technology evolves, so too do the methods of cyber criminals. In the last 12 months in particular, we’ve seen more opportunist criminals take advantage of ‘starter kits’ that allow them to carry out sophisticated attacks with relatively little tech know-how.”
”According to the Norton Cybercrime Report 2011, the largest piece of consumer research conducted into cybercrime worldwide, online credit card fraud is one of the top three cybercrimes and accounts for 10% of all cybercrime in theUK.”
For more tips and advice on how to prevent identity fraud, visit the campaign’s website, www.stop-idfraud.co.uk. The website contains a downloadable advice pack for consumers as well as a business guide.
