Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

An elderly Whittlesey resident in her 80s was taken advantage of when she was scammed of £8,000 after ‘investigators’ pressured her into handing over the money.
A spokesperson for the police said the vulnerable woman received a call from a withheld number just before Christmas from a man who said his name was DC Shepherd from the police fraud squad and that £250 had been taken from her bank account and two men were in custody for it.

The person acting as ‘DC Shepherd’ urged the elderly lady to withdraw cash from her account and leave it in a safe place under her wheelie bin at the front of her home for detectives to collect as part of the investigation.

Keen to help and concerned for her savings, the victim went to the bank and withdrew £5,000 from one account and a further £3,000 from another before placing the money in an envelope under her wheelie bin for someone to collect moments later.

The police’s cyber and fraud prevention officers have seen an increase in courier fraud scams where people are asked to leave cash in “safe places” to be collected later by investigators, or in some cases, people are asked to send cash and other valuables to addresses elsewhere in the country.

The spokesperson said: “Traditionally, courier fraudsters would send a ‘courier’ to collect cash from victims in person, but this marks a recent change of tack.”
Ghoster@FC©

I wonder ‘if’ our Police and Crime (Crumbs) Commissioner + MP’s have obtained any for our under-funded Cambs Police. (RG)

The Home Office has announced that police forces across England and Wales are set to receive a funding boost of up to £798 million in the next financial year.
This brings total funding up to £19.5 billion.

The majority of this funding is for local forces, with an additional £746 million allowing them to prioritise the crimes impacting their communities, including knife crime, anti-social behaviour and shop theft.

Additionally, funding for Counter Terrorism Policing will increase by at least £52 million. This will bring its total funding to up to more than £1.2 billion.

The Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee has put named, contactable officers in every community, increased peak time patrols in town centres and placed anti-social behaviour leads in every force.

A final settlement providing more detail on grant allocations will be released early next year once the Government’s Police Reform White Paper has been published. This will set out reforms to bring policing into the modern age with the technology, innovation and structures forces need to fight crime and protect communities.
Ghosterman@NHW-Policing.

Dear Roy,

We’ve seen the theft of larger vehicles in Fenland in the last week – particularly trucks and 4x4s. 
Here are five quick ways to protect your vehicle:

• Lock up, then double‑check it’s secure every time.
• Keep keys/fobs away from doors and windows and use a signal‑blocking pouch (Faraday‑style) for keyless fobs.
• Fit visible deterrents such as a steering lock or wheel clamp.
• Improve your home security—motion‑activated lighting, CCTV or a vehicle alarm make a difference.
• Choose safer parking—well‑lit, overlooked areas or a locked driveway/garage where possible.

For full guidance and more practical tips, visit our website.
Kind regards,
Tim Goddard
Ghoster@e-cops.