This month’s edition of Wychavon District Council’s e-newsletter contains articles centred on the upcoming local elections, scheduled for Thursday 4th May, including lists of who is standing for election in your area, reminders regarding the need for photo ID and a reminder about what to do if you haven’t received a polling card and are not planning to apply for a postal vote.

You can download and read the full newsletter here:

https://securelinks2.cmadvantage.co.uk/linkapp/cmaview.aspx?LinkID=pageid100768299zrq9~xxqfhzx~9nnh~qrnnqq~z~x~f~f~n

The latest edition is available for download here:

https://securelinks2.cmadvantage.co.uk/linkapp/cmaview.aspx?LinkID=pageid100213666zrq9~xxnnhqh~zxjx~qrfqx9~z~x~f~f~n

This month’s newsletter includes:

• Details of a new monthly open networking event for the techcommunity interested in the ever-growing technology landscape inWorcestershire. BetaDen offers an afternoon full of good company, table football, food, and drinks! This exciting event offers you a space to meet local businesses and other like-minded professionals in a relaxed social environment.

• How to apply for the remaining Enterprising Worcestershire Start-Up Grants scheme which offers funding from £1,000 up to a maximum of £30,000. Thesegrants are designed to help start-ups and early-stage businesses with investments such as purchasing IT equipment, machinery and marketing materials and can help part fund the cost of building a website for your brand.
• Two local schools planning careers events are inviting local businesses to attend in order to equip their students with an understanding of local industry to help prepare them for their futures. If you would like to play your part in inspiring the next generation whilst also raising the profile of your business to our school communities, there are a range of different opportunities enabling you to get involved.
• Witton Middle School are planning a Careers afternoon for their Year 5 and Year 6pupils on May 24.  Please email: hairdrie@worcestershire.gov.uk if you would like to deliver a careers talk/workshop.
• St Egwin’s C.E. Middle School in Evesham are planning a careers day fortheir Year 6,7 and 8 pupils on 10 July. This day will consist of a carousel of careers exploration workshops, and they are looking to engage with local employers who would be willing to run a session for their students. The sessions could take a variety of forms, including question and answer, presentations, planned activities, virtual or hands on activities, videos of your workplace or of different job roles.

PC 21072 Johns and PCSO 40369 Knight will be at the Bridge Street Evesham branch of HSBC at 10:00am on Friday 24th March 2023. Please drop in to ask any questions you may have relating to Fraud advice. 

If you are unable to make it – please take a minute or two reading the following advice relating to a common fraud and ways to prevent it from happening: 

There is a recent trend for a criminal to telephone a home and say they are a police officer from a UK police force or from New Scotland Yard, for example, and that the victim’s bank account has been compromised. The victim is then instructed to visit their bank and withdraw thousands of pounds in cash because the notes are claimed to be forgeries and to deliver them to a courier who will call at their house and prove legitimacy by using an agreed password.

If you feel you are being targeted by such a crime please – Hang up the telephone. The simple fact and the only thing to remember is that no Police officer, legitimate bank/building society or business will ever phone you to ask you to give them your bank details, or your PIN, or hand over your cash in the way described above.

Each of these cases discovered is being thoroughly investigated and the Police have a positive record of tracing these gangs and arresting them. 

However, to help them help you, the public are urged to get in touch with friends and family to warn them of the risk and to explain what to do in the event of such a bogus call. These scams can be extremely convincing and manipulative. The fraudsters may give (alleged) crime numbers, rank and titles and investigation details. They will always claim that the transaction must be done in secret and condition their victim not to trust bank branch staff, which can make it hard for those staff to help.

While it is difficult to tell how genuine these calls are, they are all, without exception, people pretending to be Police officer.

Don’t trust anyone who calls you about your bank details. If you want to check they are legitimate, find their number via directory enquiries and call them back.

Use a different telephone to make sure the line is clear. If they are genuine, you should be able to get through to them. You can also check what they are saying is true with your bank.

Scams can be very elaborate, very convincing and cruel. If you think someone is trying to scam you, hang up and tell someone straight away. Don’t be pressured. Give yourself time to stop and think.

Please remember the Police will never contact you asking for your bank card or cash. If someone does, it’s a scam – provide no details and hand nothing over, hang up and report it immediately to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040 unless you are in immediate risk or feel threatened, in which case always call 999.

You can find more information on fraud from this website:

https://www.westmercia.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/

PCC John Campion’s latest newsletter is available for download. This month’s edition contains stories on the continuing fight to reduce drugs offences in the region, combatting rural crime, tips and hints on avoiding the latest scams, efforts to improve road safety and much more.

You can download and read the latest newsletter here (ignore the reference to “August”!):

https://mailchi.mp/westmercia/pcc-newsletter-august-6120796

PCSO Julie Pardoe from West Mercia Police has advised that the Safer neighbourhood Team has been made aware that a research interviewer from Ipsos, a market research group, will be in the area over the next couple of weeks.  They will be attending pre-selected addresses where residents have been notified in advance of the visit – they will NOT be cold calling on anyone.  The interviewer should have appropriate identification which they will be able to show anyone requesting to see it.

If you have any concerns about people attending your address, here are some simple but effective measures you can take to minimize risk and to deal with callers at the doorstep. Please share these with any older or vulnerable family, friends or neighbours:

·  If someone knocks on your door: check who it is by looking through a window or peep-hole.

·  If it’s not someone you know and trust or a business caller who has made a pre-arranged appointment, do NOT open the door. This advice applies whatever uniform the caller appears to be wearing or ID card they are carrying and however urgent their business claims to be.

·  Tell unexpected business callers to leave and come back later at an agreed time when you can have someone else with you.

·  In the meantime, check their credentials by calling the organisation they claim to represent. Do so by looking up the number in your telephone book rather than using one on any card they might give you as this could simply put you through to an accomplice of a potential offender.

·  Report suspicious activity to the police. No matter how small it may seem officer would rather be called to something that turns out to be legitimate than to miss the opportunity to prevent a crime or catch an offender.