Author: Clerk
Neighbourhood Alert
| We don’t need to point out the obvious that the weather has got much warmer, however we do want to take this opportunity to remind you to take extra precautions to secure your home. There is usually a notable correlation each year between when we get the warmer months and opportunistic burglaries where windows and doors have been left open. Our advice is to make sure windows are closed fully when leaving your home or even when you are in your garden (if you are fortunate enough to have one!) and make sure your front door is locked. Sadly some people see this as a window of opportunity to quickly enter homes and take items they can then sell on, often going unnoticed for some time. Also, homes without basic security features are five times more likely to be burgled than homes with security, therefore our advice is to put in place simple yet effective, precautionary measures to reduce the chances of becoming a victim of burglary. Security measures that can be taken are: installing a visible burglar alarm having good outdoor lighting or motion sensored security lights locking doors, windows, side gates and outbuildings when you leave your house, even if you’re just out in the garden keeping vehicle keys out of sight and away from letterboxes keeping ladders and tools stored away Please be vigilant and report any concerns about suspicious activity to us – even if you think it may be nothing, it could help us prevent a burglary or catch those responsible. Sharing information on social media or with your neighbours is great, but please also remember to pass it on to us. To report information, visit https://bit.ly/3enN585 or use our online webchat function at https://bit.ly/3vsiYDw. Those without internet access should call 101, but always dial 999 if a crime is in action or someone is in immediate danger. More information on how to keep your home safe can be found on our website at https://bit.ly/3elWc9l. Kind regards, |
| Message Sent By Lauren Alexander (Police, Senior Communications Officer, Cambridgeshire Constabulary) |
Guided Nature Walks – New Life in the Old West
New life in the Old West are starting their activity programme with two guided walks for families over the school summer holidays.
These will follow planned routes through a range of wildlife habitats of about 2 miles, starting in the villages of Rampton and Wicken. We will be on hand to help identify any wildlife spotted – perhaps dragonflies, remaining summer migrant birds, and butterflies. The walks are suitable for families with children and are level and mainly off road. They take place at 10am on 11 August (Rampton) and 18 August (Wicken).
Participants are asked to book in advance, and can do this via our new website at https://www.newlifeoldwest.org.uk/events/
There are many more activities planned and on the way this autumn and onwards, across all the parishes involved in New Life.
Scam Warning
Undelivered Parcel Scams Continue Whilst we have warned about undelivered parcel scams several times in the past few months and there have been a number of recent arrests for these crimes (see our July newsletter), these scams continue to be commonplace and take many different guises which could easily dupe someone who isn’t in the know. So please be on your guard and warn others to be so too. These scams involve a (smishing) text message or (phishing) e-mail claiming to be from a parcel delivery company such as Royal Mail, DPD, Hermes, Post Office, Parcel Force or others. (Please note that this list is not exhaustive and that fraudsters assume many different identities in an attempt to trick someone out of their money). The message will state that a parcel delivery was unsuccessful or that the postage paid was insufficient and therefore you must pay a redelivery fee or the original shipping fee in order to receive the package. In each case there is a link provided to input payment details – and that link is designed to steal your bank or card information. We can share lots of examples of different version of these messages below to give you an idea of the sort of thing that you might receive. But remember, these are just examples and that these scams constantly emerge and evolve with slightly different wording.        In some cases the scam involves an exorbitant fee being taken at the point someone provides their payment details (and not just the small fee claimed in the original message). In other cases a phone call will follow, purporting to be the victim’s bank (after all, in the case of a fake text, the scammer already has their victim’s number and, if they input payment details in the hyperlink, the scammer gains their banking details too). The caller will sound very official, explaining that they can see payment details were provided to a fraudulent web link and therefore the person needs to transfer their money to a ‘safe’ account. Some victims have lost all their savings by being conned into making a bank transfer (push payment) this way. These scams have been particularly prevalent due to the increase in online shopping in recent times – a perfect illustration of how fraudsters take advantage of any situation or trend to exploit people for their money. In most cases these scam texts come from a mobile number which should be a red flag that it might not be genuine – but don’t forget that scammers can ‘spoof’ numbers to appear the same as the number of the organisation they are copying. So if you have a genuine message from Hermes in your phone messages and a new message comes in and appears in the same conversation ‘thread’ on your phone, this doesn’t mean it’s a genuine Hermes message as the scammer could have spoofed Hermes’s number. Our simple message is a parcel delivery company would not ask you to pay a redelivery or unpaid shipping fee online so do not click on any links inviting or instructing you to do so. In the case of e-mails it is often helpful to hover over or click on the sender’s name to see their true e-mail address which usually shows that they are nothing to do with the courier they are mimicking. But in any case, the same simple message applies as above – a parcel delivery company would not ask you to pay a redelivery or unpaid shipping fee online so do not click on any links inviting or instructing you to do so. Forward scam texts to 7726 and phishing e-mails to report@phishing.gov.uk . Report scams to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via their website www.actionfraud.police.uk . Please take care and warn others – many people are still confused by different versions of this same basic scam. Thank you.  Equipment used to send smishing texts on a large scale. Follow us on Twitter| Facebook|Cambridgeshire.gov.uk/against-scams  |
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COVID-19 Community Update – Mass Vaccination walk-in event – Sunday 18th July 2021
A mass vaccination walk-in event is taking place this Sunday at the Hub in Cambourne.
In general, vaccination take up in the district is good, but it is recognised that transport difficulties and a lack of flexible, non-appointment based walk-in events in the district can be a barrier for some people.
The venue will have both AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines available. Anyone who is 18 or over will be able to have a first or second dose (second doses are available if their first dose was eight weeks ago or more; on or before 23 May).
Venue: The Hub, High Street, Cambourne, CB23 6GW
Date: Sunday 18 July
Time: Drop in any time from 10am to 4pm
A face mask must be worn.
Below are links to South Cambridgeshire District Council’s social media channels that you can visit for information .
South Cambridgeshire District Council Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/SouthCambridgeshireDistrictCouncil/
South Cambridgeshire District Council Twitter – https://twitter.com/SouthCambs
South Cambridgeshire District Council Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/southcambs/
With further unlocking taking place on 19 July and infection rates increasing, it is important for as many people to be protected through the phenomenal national vaccination programme as possible. .
Free Places For Children At Summer Holiday Schemes In Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) has funding for families who receive free school meals for their children, due to the benefits they receive, to have fun with their friends and enjoy new experiences at a local holiday scheme this summer. The Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and is co-ordinated by CCC.
An eligible child will be entitled to up to 64 hours of free holiday childcare through the school summer holiday period. Parents can book places directly with participating holiday schemes, more information can be found at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/haf
A meal is also provided as part of the offer and children will have much needed social contact and physical activity.
Kind regards, Allison Box
HAF Programme Co-ordinator
Cambridgeshire County Council
Sling your hook Campaign
Sling your hook campaign launched by Neighbourhood Watch to tackle scams
| We are excited to tell you more about our SLING YOUR HOOK campaign running throughout July to help tackle scams WHY ‘SLING YOUR HOOK’? The campaign taps into the psychology that scammers use to hook people in, helping you stay one step ahead and protect yourself and your loved ones against the increasing variety of scams happening every day. We’ve identified the following five behaviours scammers commonly use: They imply they’re doing you a favour (reciprocity) They indicate everyone else is doing this (social proof) They say your only chance is to act now (urgency) They act like they’re similar to you, so you like them and want to please them (connection) They ask you to do one little thing which makes you do more (commitment). We also know that often victims of scams report that in hindsight they felt something wasn’t quite right at the time. This campaign aims to raise awareness of the tactics scammers use and encourages people to ‘stop and think’ if something doesn’t FEEL, SEEM, LOOK or SOUND right. This allows them time to trust your gut instinct and help prevent becoming a scam victim. “Everyone likes to feel special. But watch out! If a stranger is going out of their way for you, something fishy may be going on instead. Scammers like to offer one-off deals and favours. Don’t be afraid to tell them no.” John Hayward-Cripps, CEO of Neighbourhood Watch Network How can you support this campaign? LEARN: Visit our scams website pages to learn more about common scams, preventing scams, reporting scams, supporting victims and a scams campaign toolkit SHARE: Follow us on our Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn channels and share our posts JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Join us for an online talk (details below) ONLINE TALKS We are delivering a series of scams awareness online talks in partnership with the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), the National Trading Standards Scams Team (NTSST) and Avast. Anyone can attend, but we are now running waiting lists only for all the webinars apart from one! Last week we ran an online talk on ‘Exploring the psychology behind scams and how scammers are so effective at their crimes’. It was so popular we have decided to re-run it on 27th July, 5pm. Click here to book your place. Please note – this event will not be recorded. Keep safe, NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH NETWORK, Central Support Team Follow us.. ourwatch.org.uk / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn Neighbourhood Watch Network is a charity registered in England & Wales, CIO no: 1173349 |
| Message Sent By Central Support Team (NWN, Neighbourhood Watch Network, England and Wales) |
A14 C 2 H Road Closures week commencing 12th July 2021
Please find attachedroad closures information for w/c12 July in relation to the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme.
Reminder: B1514 Brampton Road is closed again Saturday 10 July between Scholars Avenue and Edison Bell Way 8am to 5pm.
Pedestrian access will remain via the footpath and all traffic will be diverted between Brampton and Huntingdon via the A141.
Please allow extra time for your journey if you’re heading out.
For all queries relating to the scheme, please email: A14CambridgeHuntingdon@highwaysengland.co.uk Further updates on scheme progress can be found on our website
South Cambs -/Child and Family Centres – what’s on in July
A14 C 2 H Road Closures, week commencing 5th July 2021
Local Highways Improvement 2021/22 Update
Highways events in and around Cambridge July 2021
Please find attached the highway events diary for July. The diary shows all known events and their associated highway restrictions.
As the easing of Covid restrictions has been delayed until July 19th, several event organisers have reconsidered their plans for 2021, instead focusing on 2022. This includes the Tour of Cambridgeshire and the Race for Life.
Please note
- Expected attendance figures are now colour coded. Larger events are easily identifiable (RED – 5000+, ORANGE 500 – 4999 and below 499 no colour).
- Expected attendance figures show the maximum attendance on any one day of the event.
- Events link directly to their entry on the one.network web page, where more details can be found relating to associated traffic management.
As usual the diary can be searched and filtered via the arrows in the title bar.
Upcoming Highlights
Newmarket Races and concert nights are going ahead throughout July and August.
- Town and Gown – Saturday 16th October
- Cambridge Half Marathon – Sunday 17th October (moved from its usual March date)
Additional Resources
Potential event organisers are urged to review the current government guidelines. As well as following any recommendations from relevant governing bodies/associations, to ensure Covid – 19 risks are identified and mitigated within risk assessments. * Details of all highway events can be found on https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/travel-roads-and-parking/roads-and-pathways/highway-events/
A14 C2H closures week commencing 28.06.21
Scam Alert – Covid digital passport scam
