Jesmond Dene Estate

Neighbourhood Watch

Jesmond Dene Estate Neighbourhood Watch

Jesmond Dene Estate's Neighbourhood Watch was established in 1980 and covers the 300 or so dwellings that make up the Jesmond Dene Estate.

The area covered includes the residents in Adderstone Crescent, Castleton Close, Castleton Grove, Glastonbury Grove, Lindisfarne Close and Lindisfarne Road.

There are two contacts within each street who liaise with the chair of the Neighbourhood Watch committee and will provide initial help if required. If you experience any anti-social behaviour or are a victim of crime, you should let your representative know as soon as possible but not before you have rung the police!

The Neighbourhood Watch committee work closely with the Jesmond Dene Estate Residents Association and the two committees have similar personnel.

To report an emergency or a crime in progress:-

Dial 999

For non-emergencies:-

Dial 101 (Costs 15p per call)

For advice or to speak to the Police:-

Dial 03456 043 043

To get to the Jesmond Dene Residents Association pages click here

Scams

There are a number of scams in play at the moment. Some of the most frequent are listed below. However, please be aware that there are always people trying to get your bank details, date of birth or other personal details to relieve you of money or possessions. Be very careful what you reveal and to whom. Recognise that banks will not ring, text or email you, so if you get a call it is probably a scam. Please also check our pages on computer security, Staying Safe and Scams.

  1. People are receiving emails that claim that the recipient is due a rebate payment as part of a government scheme and provides links for the recipient to follow in order to apply for the rebate. The links in the emails lead to malicious websites designed to steal personal and financial information. All the emails display the email subject header “Claim your bill rebate now”. Fraudsters are using the Ofgem brand logo and colours to make the emails look as authentic as possible. However, the emails ask recipients to “apply for an energy bill rebate before September 2020”, which is what prompted many recipients to realise the emails weren’t genuine.
  2. Members of gyms have had their bank accounts emptied whilst in the gym. This could happen anywhere. It relies on a number of steps - firstly, people keeping their credit and bank cards in the same case as their phone and secondly allowing preview messages in the lock screen on their mobile phone. How it works - the thief opens the mobile banking app for your bank on their phone - they log in to the app but claim to have lost their password - the bank sends a 'one time code' to your mobile phone which the thief can see if message previews are allowed in the lock screen (they don't have to even open your mobile phone) - now with access to your account, they can access your pin number and the rest is depressingly easy! Three things you should do - 1) Don't keep you bank cards with your mobile phone 2) Disable the preview of messages when the phone is locked (I know it is less convenient) 3) Ensure your phone requires a pin or recognition code to let you in.
  3. You receive a text from a relative/close friend saying that they have had to change their mobile number and to delete the old number. The fraudsters will then engage you in discussions whilst you believe them to be your relative/close friend. Eventually, they will say that they need you to transfer a sum of money for a bill they did not expect and provide you with details of the bill to be paid (e.g. the payment details of a legitimate bill for British Gas). The fraudsters employ a number of tricks here to convince you - firstly you are dealing with the fraudster direct (you have, after all, deleted the old number), mention likely things that you might have in common and generally make you believe that they are who they say they are. However, there is always something not quite right in the way they phrase things. If you receive one of these texts, ALWAYS ring the old number before deleting it - if it has truly changed, the number will be unobtainable. However, most mobile phone companies will allow you to reclaim your number if your phone is stolen.
  4. Fraudsters either ring or send emails suggesting that there is something wrong with your payment details and threaten a £200 fine if these are not corrected quickly. They then either take your bank details over the phone or direct you to a website where you are encouraged to enter your bank details. If you are concerned you should go to the TVLA website (not the link in the email or provided over the phone) and review your details there.
  5. The fraudsters state that as a result of their non-payment of tax or other duty, the victim is liable to prosecution or other legal proceedings such as repossession of belongings to settle the balance but can avoid this by arranging for payment to be made immediately by method such as bank transfer or by iTunes gift cards. If the victim is hesitant or refuses to comply, the suspect makes a threat such as immediate arrest, bailiffs or in cases where the victim appears to be of overseas origin, deportation. Often, the period for which the tax is allegedly due is distant enough to guarantee the victim will have little, if any, paperwork or ability to verify the claims. Once the money is paid the suspects sever all contact.
  6. There has been a series of recent incidents reported to Action Fraud where a lone fraudster has approached victims whom they believe to be unfamiliar with the local area. They make an excuse to talk to the victims such as enquiring about directions or offering a recommendation for a good hotel. After this interaction, several other fraudsters will intervene purporting to be police officers in plain clothes and will sometimes present false identification as proof. The fake officers will then give a reason to examine the victims’ wallet, purse or personal items. They may also examine the first fraudster’s items or try to tell victims that the first fraudster is suspicious in order to gain victim trust and appear more realistic in their guise. After all the fake police ‘checks’ are finished, victims have then reported being handed back their personal items only to later realise that a quantity of money or valuables were missing. If this happens to you ask for the name and rank of the "officer" and ring the police who will confirm if they have those officers and if they are in your locale.
  7. Lloyds customers should be on the lookout for a new sophisticated fraud that involves fraudsters sending fake bank letters. The convincing letters being sent are a replica template from Lloyds and include their logo, address and signature from a customer service representative. The letter tells recipients that there have been some “unusual transactions” on their personal account and asks them to call a number highlighted in bold to confirm they are genuine. When victims call the number, an automated welcome message is played and the caller is asked to enter their card number, account number and sort code followed by their date of birth.Victims are then instructed to enter the first and last digit of their security number.
  8. Fraudsters have set up a high specification website template advertising various electrical goods and domestic appliances. These goods are below market value and do not exist. The fraudsters will request your card details via the website; however the purchaser will then receive an email stating the payment failed and they must pay via bank transfer. The fraudsters entice the purchaser and reassure them it is a legitimate purchase by using the widely recognised Trusted Shop Trustmark. The fraudsters are using the Trustmark fraudulently and have not been certified by Trusted Shops and therefore the purchaser is not covered by the Trusted Shop money-back guarantee. Remember, credit card shopping rarely fails buying by credit card is protected by the card company.
  9. An email arrives fraudulently claiming to be from British Gas or The Ministry of Justice. The attached document or link leads to the TorrentLocker ransomware. This malware encrypts files on the victim’s system and requests a ransom be paid in order for the files to be decrypted; one reported amount has been £330 worth of Bitcoins. It has been reported that some anti-virus vendors are detecting this and stopping the pages and or documents from being opened, but do not rely entirely on this. DO NOT CLICK ON LINKS IN EMAILS - if you think the email is genuine, go to the organisation's main website and navigate to the correct page - email links are frequently used to take you to places you do not want to go!
  10. Invoices sent to your email - Unless these are invoices are expected, DO NOT open the attachment. These are attempts to either trick you into paying money you do not owe or to take over your computer and steal your bank or other details.
  11. "We Are Holding A Parcel In Your Name" - Here scam postcards are delivered to your home or you receive an email telling you that the items are on their way. If you contact the company, they will ask for your credit card details to "verify" your name and address and promise that the parcel is on the way. They are only interested in your credit card details. Do not respond to these unlless you are expecting a delivery through this particular carrier. Either way, do not reveal your credit card details.
  12. You receive a call purporting to come from Microsoft telling you that you have a virus on your machine. They will than ask you to log onto your machine and change a number of settings for them so they can clear this up for you. Do not do this, this is a scam to get into your machine and steal other details about you. Please if you receive these calls, just hang up.
  13. You receive an email suggesting that you have won a lottery, gained an inheritance or that you can help one or other official in a foreign land liberate some money from a bank account. Do not respond to these as they are scams to get you to divulge your bank account details which they will then help themselves to the contents.
  14. You receive a call from your bank or credit card company suggesting that there has been a fraud on your account and encouraging you to ring your bank. You attempt to do this, but they stay on the line and impersonate your bank handing over all sorts of information to "prove" who you are. If you get one of these calls, please ensure that you phone a friend before you ring your bank to ensure that the line is clear. Also do not phone the number given to you by the fraudsters - find the correct number from your bank statement and ring that after you have rung your friend or use a different type of phone (e.g. mobile) to make the call.
  15. Fraudsters often target ‘goods for sale’ adverts on popular online auctions sites, so watch out whenever you’re selling anything online. The fraudster will contact the seller to say that they want to buy the advertised item. The seller then receives what looks like a genuine PayPal email, to confirm that the money has been paid by the buyer into their account. With confirmation of payment, the seller will then send the item to the buyer’s address. The seller will later find that the PayPal email is fake and that the money has not been paid. The seller ends up losing out twice as not only do they not have the money, but they no longer have the item to sell. Protect yourself:
    1. Check your PayPal account to ensure that the money has been paid in and has cleared into your bank account before you send the item to the buyer.
    2. Do not be bullied or rushed into sending items before you know that the payment has cleared – a genuine purchaser will not mind waiting a day or two for you to send them their item.
    3. If you are selling a vehicle, think carefully when selling to overseas purchasers – especially if they tell you they will send an extra payment for shipping – check that the funds have cleared before arranging this.

Remember - Be Vigilant and you are less likely to get scammed!