Category: Announcements

Scams Caution: frequent scams from 2021 that are resurfacing this year

1. ‘There’s a problem with your Amazon account’
This scam targets victims through phone calls using a recorded message that prompts you to call back to fix an issue with your account. Sometimes a real person may be calling from a call centre. They may threaten to close your account if you don’t act quickly – which usually means handing over your payment details. Amazon never calls customers like this, unless it’s to follow up on an issue you’ve raised.

2. ‘Your National Insurance number has been compromised’
One phone scam that peaked last year and continues to do the rounds, is a recorded voice message claiming to be from the National Crime Agency.

If you listen carefully, you can tell that the recorded voice is not a real person speaking – it’s a ‘bot’ that’s been auto-generated by software. The call tells you to ‘press 1 to be connected to an agent.’ But this is a hotline to a scammer who will try to extract information and bank details from you. The National Crime Agency doesn’t communicate with members of the public. Realistically, there’s not much someone could do with your National Insurance number without other personal information either.

3. ‘You’ve missed a delivery’
The most common text message scams last year were warnings about missed deliveries or outstanding delivery charges. The delivery company most impersonated last year was Royal Mail, according to the number of reports received, followed by Hermes and DPD.

Other text scams operating like this include fake texts from banks. The message is often an alert that a new payee has been set up or an unknown transfer has taken place, which asks the recipient to click on the link to check the details. The link takes them to a cloned bank website which will likely ask for login details, PIN, and other personal information. Avoiding clicking on links in texts is your best bet to avoid text scams.

4. ‘Apply for your Covid passport now’
Many people have reported texts, calls and emails impersonating the NHS. Be aware that there are some very convincing cloned NHS websites which are cleverly designed to dupe us into entering sensitive information e.g. thinking they were booking their vaccinations.

The key thing to remember is that Covid services are always free on the NHS to British Citizens and those who reside in the UK. Be suspicious of anyone claiming to be from the NHS asking for money or payment information.

David Rose

The Social Sub-Committee will be placing a Suggestion Box at forthcoming monthly meetings in which they would like you to offer your suggestions for future social events.

A topic I try avoid in the monthly message is Covid. However I think this month we have reached a turning point. The Covid case rate was at its highest in the city and county on January 4, according to the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Resilience Forum on January 24th. Nottingham peaked at 1,770 per 100,000 on January 4. Cases in Gedling reached 2,250 on the same day and 2,228 across Ashfield. Figures have significantly dropped across the county since, with 873 cases being recorded per 100,000 in the seven days leading up to January 18. But health officials have still urged for caution.

This data indicates that the infection rate for Covid is now on the decline and for most people the risk to health after infection by the Omicron variant appears substantially lower than the risk from Delta. This is most likely due to a combination of immunity from prior vaccination and immunity from natural infection. However its increased transmissibility means more people can get it but less likely to get seriously ill. As the infection rate was rising through December and into early January it was wise of Interest Groups who meet indoors, where the transmission risk is higher, to postpone or Zoom their usual meetings. Masks and distancing were added to the monthly meeting to help minimise risk.

Hopefully we can now look forward to most group meetings resuming again. However at this stage it remains at the discretion of the group leader and group members. The risk outdoors or in large well aired spaces is much reduced and the cycling group have taken advantage of that.
You can read on this website about their inaugural crossing of the Bennerley Viaduct which has been restored and opened to walkers and cyclists.

At the December meeting the History Group welcomed a presentation from ‘Friends of Bennerley’ who were instrumental in saving this iconic structure for all to enjoy. It is worth a visit and a walk or cycle across if you can manage it.

David Rose Chairman

A new delivery scam impersonating the Post Office is one of the most convincing clone websites.

Here’s what you need to watch out for. A recent survey found that three in five of us have been targeted by scam delivery texts, typically using Royal Mail, DPD and Hermes branding.

This time, the scammers are targeting the Post Office. There are variations of fake texts claiming that a parcel delivery has failed, asking recipients to click the link to ‘book a new date’ or ‘reschedule a delivery’ via two sites that have nothing to do with the Post Office.

Clicking the links takes you to extremely convincing Post Office clones, shown below. The websites were only set up early in January, and all other information has been ‘redacted for privacy’ – always treat new sites that hide information with suspicion. The first step of the scam is to invite you to enter your postcode before asking for your full name, delivery address, email address, date of birth and mobile number. This information is fed directly to scammers who could use it to commit identity fraud.

Once more we are approaching the end of an eventful year with some optimism for the situation gradually changing in 2022. Between September and December we are very pleased to report that most of our groups were up and running again.

For their continued support throughout this challenging year I would like to thank members, committee members, social committee members, group leaders, their assistants, Steve Lawrence for producing the newsletter and Graham Daft for printing it. The fact that our u3a has ended 2021 in such good shape is entirely due to you all and we cannot express our gratitude enough.

On a cheerful note it was lovely to see ours and all the other Christmas Trees and Christmas Wreaths displayed in the church in December.

The Christmas Lunch was enjoyed by 105 members who were well spaced out in the Portland Room at the John Godber Centre. It was good to hear live music thanks to Paul Haigh and his string quartet and the diners were also entertained by a raffle and Terry’s (new) book of jokes.

The Christmas film was also enjoyed by 61 members and at both events generous donations were collected towards the defibrillator fund. The amount raised so far in total for the defibrillator is £630,

Member Linda Baker took on a personal challenge of a sponsored walk to raise money towards the fund and raised an amazing £105. Much appreciated and very well done Linda.

With all the increasing infections around at the moment, we hope that you are keeping safe and well. At the time of writing we may need to revisit the current infection rate situation and possible further guidance as we move into the January. The committee are meeting via Zoom on the 5th January and will keep you informed on any decisions and developments.
On behalf of the committee, we would like to wish you and yours a very Happy, Healthy and peaceful New Year.

David Rose Chairman