Conlon on crime: Beware phoney calls

Jun 17 2009 by Sam Casey, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

CRIME trends change all the time and fraud is on the increase as criminals become more sophisticated.

One popular con is the bogus phone call, designed to convince you to hand over your credit card or bank details.

The main advice to anyone on the receiving end is simple: be cautious.

If you are contacted by telephone and told that you have won a prize, think for a minute: Did you enter any competitions? The odds are that you didn’t.

The vast majority of the time, these calls are scams, originating from abroad and are designed to convince you to give over personal details.

If this happens to you, just hang up the phone.

If you ever do win, you will never be asked for personal details, nor would you ever have to pay anything in order to collect your winnings – a sure sign that something is wrong.

Many people have been taken in by these scams, and some have lost their entire life savings.

Don’t be one of them.

Follow these simple steps to make sure you don’t fall foul of the phone fraudsters:

Never give out personal details over the phone

Always ask for more information or simply hang up

Be sure you know who you’re talking to

Keep your bank account details secure

Can you help us identify the two people captured on CCTV this week?

They went into the Lidl store on Wakefield Road, Aspley, at about 4.30pm on Wednesday, June 4.

After leaving, a pedal cycle that had been left outside by a 14-year-old girl was stolen. The cycle was a purple Townsend mountain bike.

Anyone with information should contact Pc Lynn Newton on 0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.