Author: Clerk

South Cambridgeshire District Council green bin collections

South Cambridgeshire District Council green bin collections: As we catch-up on collections in the district, we’re aware there were some streets in your area we didn’t reach last Saturday. However, we are planning to collect from these missed areas this Saturday

Please check the service announcements page at https://www.scambs.gov.uk/recycling-and-bins/bin-collection-service-announcements/ 

for further updates. It also includes answers to common queries we are receiving about green bin collections.

Catch-up collection for green bins this Saturday

Willingham’s missed green bin collections will be collected on Saturday (26 February) as part of the Council’s ‘catch-up’ collection rounds. Therefore please do bring in your green bins for the next couple of days. The green bins will need to be out by 6am on Saturday to be collected in the catch-up collections. Blue and black collections are not affected by this additional catch up collection for green bins.

A14 C 2 H Road Closures week commencing 21st February 2022

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire: major improvements
We are currently carrying out finishing works for which we need to close lanes or
carriageways on the A1, A14 and some local roads at times, usually overnight
between 9pm and 6am, unless otherwise stated. A clearly signed diversion route will
always be in place for closures.
For this week, the planned closures are:
Full closures
Saturday 26 8am to 5pm
• B1514 Brampton Road between Scholars Avenue and Edison Bell Way
Vehicles on the Huntingdon town centre side will be diverted onto the ring
road, St Peters Road to A141 west to Brampton / Brampton Racecourse
junction and into Brampton via B1514.
Vehicles on the Brampton side of the closure will follow this diversion in
reverse.
Pedestrian access will be maintained via the footpath.
For more information about this scheme, visit https://nationalhighways.co.uk/ourwork/a14-cambridge-to-huntingdon/

Catch up green bin collections – Saturday 19 and 26 February

For the green bins that were not emptied between 7 and 18 February due to our staff shortages, we will be returning to empty these on the next two Saturdays. If all the green bins on your street were not emptied during this fortnight, please put your green bin out on Saturday 19 and Saturday 26 February, until it is emptied. Thank you for your continued understanding and support. For more information, go to www.scambs.gov.uk/bins

A14 C 2 H Road closures, week commencing 14th February 2022

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire: major improvements


We are currently carrying out finishing works for which we need to close lanes or carriageways on the A1, A14 and some local roads at times, usually overnight
between 9pm and 6am, unless otherwise stated. A clearly signed diversion route will always be in place for closures.

For this week, the planned closures are:

Full closures

Tuesday 15 (one night)
• A1(M) southbound between junction 14 and A1 Alconbury southbound entry
slip Vehicles will be diverted onto the A1307(M) to Spittals roundabout and then
west on the A141 to re-join the A1 at Brampton Hut or to continue west onto
the A14

Saturday 19 8am to 5pm

• B1514 Brampton Road between Scholars Avenue and Edison Bell Way
Vehicles on the Huntingdon town centre side will be diverted onto the ring
road, St Peters Road to A141 west to Brampton / Brampton Racecourse
junction and into Brampton via B1514. Vehicles on the Brampton side of the closure will follow this diversion in reverse.
Pedestrian access will be maintained via the footpath.

For more information about this scheme, visit https://nationalhighways.co.uk/ourwork/a14-cambridge-to-huntingdon/

Energy Company scam Alert forwarded from Cambridgeshire Police

View as a webpage

Cambridgeshire Police Fraud Alert –

Energy Company Scams
Energy companies are closing at unprecedented rates and with more than two million customers being affected, this is just another opportunity for fraudsters to exploit.


There is limited information that fraudsters are sending fake emails purporting to be from a solicitor on behalf of a recognisable energy supplier, these emails claim to be collecting outstanding payments and may make reference to your account being taken over and managed by another energy company. Like most phishing communications they not only intend to appear genuine, but they also install fear, anxiety, stress, a sense of urgency and a veiled threat such as legal action and disconnection of supply.

If you receive any such email or message:
STOP – Taking a moment to stop and think before replying, parting with your money or information could keep you safe.
CHALLENGE – Could it be fake? It is ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try and rush or panic you.
PROTECT – Contact your bank immediately if you think you have fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.

Do not reply to the suspicious communication or use the contacts details provided.

Do not open any attachment or click on any link.

Contact your current and genuine energy supplier using your previously tried, tested, and trusted means, this is either an app, website or contact telephone number from a genuine previous bill.

They will soon confirm or deny whether the communication is a scam or not.
If you receive a suspicious email forward to report@phishing.gov.uk or text to 7726
Ensure any suspicious communication is deleted from your device.

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Scam Alert forwarded from Cambridgeshire Police
Casp View as a webpage scam warning Cambridgeshire Police Fraud Alert –
Fake Banking App Scam

Fake banking apps are available to download from both the Apple Store and Google Play, apps that fraudsters could use to scam people.
The link below relates to a Wiltshire media article and provides more detail of the scam in action, but I will provide a summary.
Fraudsters download a fake banking app and search local online marketplaces.

If you are selling something locally and you invite the buyer to visit your home, or an agreed meeting place, be alert if you agree to the sale when the buyer produces their mobile phone and asks for your bank account and sort code. You will be able to watch them enter the details into their fake banking app and then they will show you the screen of their phone which will display a message that the agreed amount has successfully been paid into your bank.

Please do not hand over the goods until you have checked and confirmed that the payment has been received into your own bank account, but this is where the criminal may try and distract you.

This type of scam could impact on any one of us potentially, but I am concerned for those who are vulnerable and feel intimidated, so they don’t check their bank account before handing over the goods.
Please take the time to read the media article and mention to family and friends. Watch out for fake bank app used by crooks in attempted £600 iPhone scam | This Is Wiltshire Follow us on Twitter| Facebook|Cambridgeshire.gov.uk/against-scams CCC PCC
Scam Alert forwarded from Cambridgeshire Police
Casp View as a webpage scam warning Advice from Cambs Police on Delivery room Scams UK consumers are being increasingly targeted by recovery room scams. This is where fraudsters approach those who have been scammed or had failed investments, offering to help them get their money back for an upfront fee. This scam is particularly effective in cases where the person does not get a refund from their bank. There is usually no explanation on how money will be recovered or, if an explanation is given, it is likely to be false or implausible. For example, falsely claiming to be the Financial Conduct Authority or working with the Government, Police, Action Fraud, to recover any monies which have been lost. Generally, recovery rooms insist on being paid a fee or transaction charge before carrying out any services to recover any losses.
How recovery room scams works
Recovery room scams usually follow on from the original scam where someone has lost money. The perpetrators of the original scam may operate the recovery room and contact the victim again pretending to be from a different firm or sell on their details to other recovery rooms. The scam tends to involve cold calling with high-pressure tactics and upfront charges described as a tax, solicitor, or administrative fees, which can result in losses that can be greater than the initial loss. The recovery rooms often have professional-looking websites to persuade visitors they are legitimate and claim to have a UK presence when they don’t. These websites often make false claims to have successfully recovered money for other consumers involved in scams. Recovery rooms generally use a web-based email address, such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or Russian search engine, Yandex. The Police, FCA, HMRC, banks never use webmail providers to contact consumers, nor does the Government, law enforcement agencies or law firms.
Be aware of clone firms
Many bogus firms will use the name, firm registration number (FRN), and address of firms and individuals who are FCA authorised. This is called a clone firm. Scammers may even copy legitimate websites, making subtle changes such as changing the phone number.
How to protect yourself
Always be wary if you are contacted out of the blue about recovering money lost due to fraud or due to a failed investment, or if you feel pressured to hand over money quickly or are promised something that sound too good to be true.   Be wary of websites, phone calls, and online or social media adverts promising to recover any money you may have lost from investments or fraud. If you get a phone call offering to recover your losses, ask how the caller has information about your lost money. Any report of fraud can only be shared between other law enforcement agencies. It cannot be shared with a private business operating a recovery room. If you have been asked to pay a fee or provide your bank account, card, or other financial details, end all contact immediately and do not pay any money or provide any banking details. Recovery room scams claim to provide services usually offered by claims management companies. A firm must be authorised to advertise or undertake these services in the UK. Check the FCA website Financial Services Register to make sure the firm is authorised. www.fca.org.uk   Follow us on Twitter| Facebook|Cambridgeshire.gov.uk/against-scams CCC PCC

scams
Scam in Focus -Romance Scams
Romance Scams. 
What is a romance scam?  It is when someone uses an online dating site to develop a relationship with someone for the express purpose of extracting money from them.  
How does someone become a victim? The scam is run over a long period of time, forging a relationship, gaining trust, until they feel the victim is sufficiently enamoured with the scammer to send money when it is asked for. 
Signs: – A friend or family member may be involved are they exhibiting secretive behaviour, making excuses why they haven’t met in person, Sudden and strong attachment to someone they haven’t met, and have only just started talking to.  These are some of the things to look out for.
Remember, these people are professional relationship builders.  They will make you feel special and say all the right things because that is how they gain your trust and build the relationship with you. 
How to protect yourself: – Alarm bells should ring If- 
You like the person and they ask you to chat off the site.   
You attempt to arrange to meet, but they keep making excuses why they can’t.  They will usually be out of the country for some reason, and it will all sound very plausible.    
If they ask for money or any personal documentation, then that is a sure sign the person is not on the dating site genuinely. 
If you find yourself getting really defensive about questions from loved ones and friends.  If they are concerned there is probably a legitimate reason, especially.   
Conduct a reverse image search on one of the search engines. If the search engine returns an image like the one seen on the dating profile, do a bit more research around the picture.  It could be a photograph from a company website.   
“Why would someone wait this long to scam me”.  The longer the scam goes on the more you will get attached to the person, the more money you are likely to spend.  Remember that the sums sent from a single person have been £30,000.  This is a good yearly wage, and  this is multiplied by the number of people they are scamming, they can scam several people at the same time. 
Examples of the type of job they will have: – Remember, they will be working out of the country so they may be on an oil rig, be a doctor working abroad, or they could be in the military.  They need to be out of the country as a reason why they can’t meet you, and then when they ask for money, for example, they need money for a flight home, or to pay medical fees, or they have lost their credit cards, it will all sound plausible.  
Payments: – Credit cards, banks and Paypal all have ways of protecting their customers, and transactions can be reversed. So, you will be asked to send money via ways where the receiver can remain anonymous and the transfer is not reversable. If you haven’t heard of their way they are asking you to send money, or it isn’t something you have done before, then it is another red flag. 
At the end of the day this is a job to these people.  So another tell tale sign is they only chat with you their equivalent of 9-5, don’t forget they live all over the world in different time zones, so it may look like they are chatting when they get home from work, but in reality they are in a different time zone.  English may not be their first language so if they are saying they are from Wales, and their English isn’t good, then that is another flag that something may be wrong. 

Partner in the spotlight – Nat West
This months partner in focus, we look at Nat West and how they are working through these difficult times.
The role of a Customer Support Specialist at NatWest is primarily based in the community so our local Community Banker Bernadette Merry has had to adapt her way of working during the coronavirus restrictions. However she is still very much able to support you and the wider community at this time.
Nat west

Bernadette now offers workshops on Fraud & Scams and Digital Safety via Zoom. This is available to any community group or charity – they don’t need to be a customer of NatWest.
Another valuable offer from the Customer Support Specialist is to offer support and coaching for customers who wish to register for and use NatWest’s Online Banking services, mobile app and video banking which will help them to do most of the things they’d usually do in branch without having to leave their homes.
Two new dedicated customer support lines have also been put in place and the links below provide more information about how they can help.
Over 70’s and extended isolation  line – 0800 051 4176 (Relay UK 18001 0800 051 4176)
NHS Workers line – 0800 046 2418 (Relay UK 18001 0800 046 2418)
If you would like to contact the Customer Support Specialist for your area, please contact Bernadette Merry 

A14 C 2 H Road Closures week commencing 31st January 2022

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire: major improvements
We are currently carrying out finishing works for which we need to close lanes or
carriageways on the A1, A14 and some local roads at times, usually overnight
between 9pm and 6am, unless otherwise stated. A clearly signed diversion route will
always be in place for closures.
For this week, the planned closures are:
Full closures
Tuesday 1 to Friday 4 February (four nights)
• A10 northbound between the Milton junction 33 gyratory and Butt Lane
Vehicles will be diverted east on the A14 to Newmarket junction 37, north on
the A142, west on the Ely Southern Bypass and then either south on the A10
for access or re-join the A10 northbound to continue their journey
For more information about this scheme, visit https://nationalhighways.co.uk/ourwork/a14-cambridge-to-huntingdon/