This weeks community messages include scam advice on how to stay safe on Black Friday or when looking for jobs, being wary about ‘Winter Fuel Payment’ scams, notices about a spate in car crime for keyless contact vehicles and requests for online survey completion.
Beware of winter fuel payment scams
Between April and September 2025, Action Fraud has received 2,790 crime reports relating to Winter Fuel Payment scams, with victims reporting losses totalling over £27,000.
Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically, you do not need to do anything. If you receive any text messages about Winter Fuel Payments, it’s a scam.
Not sure if a message is real? Contact the organisation directly using the contact details on their official website, not the number or web address in the message. Your bank (or any other official source) won’t ask you to supply personal information by email or text message.
If you have spotted a suspicious SMS or RCS message, you can report it for FREE by forwarding it to 7726.
If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud online at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040
Online safety advice – shopping and job seeking
We all know or have heard about someone who’s bought clothes, tech or even a car on the internet … only for it to never arrive. Sometimes it’s because of an admin error, but more often than not, they’ve been manipulated by a fraudster. Maybe it’s even happened to you. Buying online is convenient and often cheaper — but it’s also one of the biggest hunting grounds for fraudsters.
Ahead of Black Friday, why not take some time to read Get Safe Online’s latest online shopping tips either via the leaflet attached or on our website:
Secondly, if you, or someone you know, are seeking a seasonal job this Christmas, try our new Job Seekers Tool Page – featuring seven free-to-use tools to check if the job you are looking at is a genuine opportunity or a scam. With a massive increase in employment scams, coupled with pre-festive season demands for extra staff in certain sectors, this new page will help stop you becoming a victim in this way if you are looking work. Check out the guidance here
Car Thefts
There has been a spate of stolen motor vehicles particularly Ford vehicles, especially keyless vehicles in our area.
If you are the owner of a Ford please take additional steps to ensure your car is safe from theft. Keep your keys in a Faraday or similar pouch to stop thieves from hacking and cloning your key.
This also applies to any other keyless vehicle.
2025 Crime and Community Survey
Today sees the launch of our annual survey looking at your experience of crime and your connection to your local community. The data from the survey goes into a report which they publish on the website, and use to help prioritise work.
The survey takes about ten minutes to complete, and if you can spare the time, they really hope that you will make your views known to them. The survey will close on 1 December 2026.
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