Horam & Vines Cross

Police Fraud Newsletter July 2017. Additional news. Increase in HMRC frauds Sussex, elderly people are receiving a high volume of phone calls purporting to be from HMRC. So far, none of them sent money, but it is vital that people are aware of the signs and act on them. This is a recent case study: A man of 87 living alone in East Sussex, received a call from a woman claiming to be from HMRC. He was transferred on the line and spoke to an unknown male saying that he owed them money and that he would be taken to court if he didn’t pay up. The victim offered to pay and the caller told him to go to their office in Tunbridge Wells. The victim said he could not get there, so the caller then told him to go to buy iTunes vouchers from Tesco, so he consequently went to Tesco in Bexhill-On-Sea and tried to obtain £1500 worth. The manager at Tesco asked him lots of questions and became suspicious and told the victim this was a scam. The caller was still on his mobile phone while he was trying to buy the vouchers. The Tesco manager asked to talk to him and when he did the caller on the end of the phone swore at the manager. Luckily no money was parted with and the incident was reported to the Police. These are some of the contact methods used to defraud people in Sussex: Voicemails saying you owe HMRC unpaid tax. Text messages: fraudsters send you a text message requesting you to urgently call back on the number provided. Protect yourself. HMRC will never use a text message to inform you about a tax rebate or penalty. HMRC will never ask for any payment in the form of iTunes Vouchers. As well as iTunes vouchers, HMRC would not ask for payment in the form of any other vouchers or any other payment methods. HMRC will never use texts to tell you about a tax rebate or penalty or ever ask for payment in this way. If you or someone you know is vulnerable and has been a victim of fraud call Sussex Police on 101 or visit www.sussex.police.uk. If you need to a report fraud or attempted fraud, you can do so by contacting Action Fraud at or by calling 0300 123 2040. You can also read the latest Action Fraud alerts at or by following @actionfrauduk

MICROSOFT: Police take on bogus Microsoft fraudsters in collaboration with the City of London Police and the National Crime Agency (NCA); Sussex and Surrey Police’s Cyber Crime Unit investigated a customer service fraud involving bogus contacts from Microsoft. Vulnerable individuals were contacted about a fault on their system that preys on obtaining as much financial information as possible from those victims. The police obtained information about a company in Woking that was targeting victims across Sussex and Surrey. A warrant was executed at the company’s premises, two people were arrested and the NCA subsequently closed websites that were involved. Detective Inspector Rob Walker said: ‘The key message is that everyone should be aware that companies like Microsoft will never randomly contact individual customers and there is guidance out there to ensure you don’t become a victim.’ Stay informed and be aware Cyber-criminals often use publicly available phone directories, so they might know your name and other personal information when they call you. They might even guess what operating system you’re using. Once they’ve gained your trust, the caller might ask for your user name and password or ask you to go to a legitimate website (such as www.ammyy.com) to install software that will let them access your computer to fix it. Once you do this, your computer and your personal information are vulnerable.

CROSS IN HAND: Glancing through TripAdvisor (as you do, wasting time again, sorry!) I came across some excellent reviews of The Cross-in-Hand pub. This has gone through several changes of ownership and management over the years but according to recent social media reports it does appear to be once again offering good food and a friendly welcome. We do not have many town pubs (still waiting to find out what is happening to the Prince of Wales,) apart from the lovely old pubs in both Waldron and Old Heathfield, but this place deserves our support. It’s handy, convenient, close to the Rugby Club on busy Saturdays and a welcoming bright light as you enter the town from the west. If anyone doesn’t agree (with this or any other of my postings,) then please let me know.

CROSS IN HAND PRIMARY SCHOOL: All the end of term excitement is over (at the time of writing this, it appears the good weather is too). We miss seeing the mums, dads, grannies, granddads and children. We hope you all have a wonderful holiday, whatever you do, at home or away. And thank you to all for your courtesy and consideration when driving to and from, or parking near the school. It’s made our lives so much easier and it’s hugely appreciated.

HORAM: French Classes. Horam Centre. For anyone who wants to improve their French vocabulary when visiting our neighbours across the Channel. These courses are very well worth the money. The 30 week Intermediate Plus course starts September 7 at the Horam Centre. Please call the ACRES office on 01825 761820

SUMMER FAIR: Oaklands Court Nursing Home Summer Fair, July 29. Vines Cross Road, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. Tombola, raffle, bric a brac, plants and lots more. Music from Pevensey Ukulele Group. All proceeds to Resident’s Activity Fund.

FIVE ASHES: Footpath Walk. If you fancy a trip to Mayfield on Sunday (nice lunch at the Middle House afterwards, perhaps?) there’s a monthly footpath walk which starts at 10am, perfect to get back in good time. They meet this month on Sunday July 30th, as usual in South Street car park and setting out at 10am. They will walk for a few hours using some of the many footpaths, bridleways and tracks that criss-cross the parish. What better way to spend a summer Sunday morning! (And the rain might have cleared by then). Deborah Dixon [email protected]

SEA SHANTIES: If choral singing in church, or more serious membership of an operatic level choir is not for you, then what about a sea shanty group? Simon Rudge and others in Mayfield and Five Ashes want to start a Sea Shanty singing group. It is very early days but they would be interested to hear from anyone who might want to be involved, and better still, someone who knows what to do! If you are interested please email [email protected]

BLACKBOYS: The Blackboys Inn holds its hugely popular beer festival from August 11 to 13. Look out for guest beers, lots of Harveys’ wonderful ales, music and a great time. Good idea to turn up early as the pub gets busy although entertainment does go on through the afternoons.

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