Warwickshire Police together with Warwickshire Fire & Rescue have issued a warning NOT to use the A452 at Kenilworth Ford close to Castle Green and Kenilworth Castle. Earlier this morning some vehicles entered the Ford which is very high and became inundated. In one case a driver had to be rescued by Warwickshire Firefighters.

The automatic electric signs are working and have been lit for several hours but despite this some drivers have chosen to ignore the signs thinking they somehow are ‘different’ and can get through the Ford. The facts are no one, or vehicle, is invincible and it is plain idiocy to attempt to go through the Ford when the signs are lit and the Ford is so high.

There are plenty of roads and routes nearby that enable vehicles to take a diversion so there is no need to enter the Ford. Moreover, the swell and current of the brook that has inundated the A452 at the Ford is strong and consequently is very dangerous.

Crown Watch appeal to all drivers NOT to travel through the Ford until further notice as to do so is dangerous. You could be putting not only your life, the life of any passengers you may have but also the lives of the emergency services at risk who may have to rescue you.

Casita Grove, Kenilworth – Burglary & Car Theft

Between 15 and 20 February 2016, offenders broke into a home in Casita Grove, Kenilworth after forcing open windows in the conservatory. Once inside the house, the offenders carried out an untidy search of bedrooms, pulled a safe off the wall and stole a handbag containing credit cards and the keys to a Range Rover vehicle. The offenders then used the keys to steal the vehicle from the driveway. This refers to Incident 199 of 20 February 2016.

Lindsey Crescent, Kenilworth – Attempted Burglary

During the night of 20 into 21 February 2016, offenders attempted to break into a home in Lindsey Crescent, Kenilworth by using a crowbar type instrument to attempt to lever open the front door. The offenders failed to get into the house and nothing was stolen.            This refers to Incident 154 of 21 February 2016.

Woodmill Meadow, Kenilworth – Theft from Unattended Motor Vehicle

At some point before 2.15pm on 21 February 2016, offenders smashed the rear passenger window of a Ford vehicle parked at a home in Woodmill Meadow, Kenilworth and then stole an empty black leather handbag, with a broken handle, from inside. The owner of the vehicle heard a car alarm sound at about 1.45am on 21 February and this may be connected.This refers to Incident 216 of 21 February 2016.

If you think you heard or saw anything related to any of the above incidents then please contact Warwickshire Police on 101. If you wish to make contact anonymously then call Crimestoppers on 0800 111 555.

Kenilworth residents are advised to remain vigilant following an event that took place at approximately 01.00hrs on 17 February, the resident of a home in Denewood Way, Kenilworth was woken by a noise and, upon investigation, discovered burglars in her house. The offenders had ripped out the front door of the house and quickly made off when they were discovered. Nothing appears to have been stolen.

If you have information that you believe may be connected to this incident, please contact Warwickshire  Police on 101, quoting incident number 12 of 17 February 2016.

Crown Watch is warning all Kenilworth residents not to fall for a scam that has started earlier today. It will suggest there is a receipt attached and suggests you click on it to open. DON’T!

The email looks very plausible and appears to be from The Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA – formerly known as DVLA)

If you open the attachment, your computer will be revealed to third parties for an attack.  This often means all your contacts will be accessed enabling cyber criminals to send emails, purporting to be from you to your contacts to fool them into doing the same.

Your computer, once open to third party access can be used by others as a Trojan, infected with an operating virus or other details may be learned.

The advice is easy – DON’T open attachments in emails from anyone that you don’t know or from organisations that do not normally email you.

If in doubt, don’t open the attachment. Send it to the trash and empty the trash.

Here is the official notification issued by the DVSA earlier today.

 

People with home computers in Kenilworth, Warwickshire are being targeted by cyber criminals Warwickshire Police have warned this afternoon (Friday 5 February 2016). Earlier this morning a resident was subjected to an attempt to raid their bank account and despite a lengthy conversation by telephone the resident thankfully did not give out their bank details.

Householders with computers need to be vigilant when receiving any telephone calls purporting to be from internet providers such as “Talk Talk” “Virgin” or “BT”.

These calls are a SCAM and residents not heeding warnings or advice run a serious risk of losing the contents of their bank account and running up any pre authorised overdraft limits on their account.

The caller will typically ask the householder to turn their computer on and then will appear to go through a number of processes to rid the householders computers of any errors or bugs in the system. Once this part of the scam is completed they then move on to say they are sorry the system was affected and they would like to compensate the householder for the inconvenience.

They will typically say they wish to award the householder a sum of between £200 and £300. Then they ask for the householders bank account and sort code details so they can make a payment to your account. Don’t believe it, it’s a con.

Any householder that provides these details will have their bank account cleared out. 

Note: Where a bank account holder freely provides the details of their account to a third party the bank will NOT reimburse the account holder for any theft from the account that takes place as a consequence.

These people can and often do sound very plausible. They are practised in all the tricks to fool a person into thinking they are genuine. DON’T FALL FOR IT AND GET CLEANED OUT.

A second and similar scam has also been experienced by some Kenilworth residents. Again the scam takes place with a telephone call, this time an individual pretends to be from the computer software giant “Microsoft”. They tell the householder that there is a problem with their computer and they are ringing to fix it.

Similar to scam mentioned earlier the caller pretends to carry out a number of actions to “repair the computer”. Once they say that is finished they ask for payment. They may ask for bank account details such as account number and sort code or debit card details. Once the householder provides them the bank account will be cleared out within minutes.

Crown Watch would like to provide some key points to always remember about these type of events:

• Computer companies and Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) NEVER ring up asking for bank account details.
• Microsoft DO NOT call customers at home to “repair computers” or “resolve problems”.
• NEVER provide your bank details to anyone unless you are seeking a service or you know the company.
• DO NOT provide your date of birth details to anyone you do not know, despite who they say they are.
• Be aware that if you are not careful and vigilant about these type of events it could cost you dearly. A theft of your money will not be reimbursed back to your account by a bank if you freely provided the account details to third party.
• If you live next to an older person who may be vulnerable then take some time out with them to check they know these things but do so without alarming them.
• If you get one if these calls them terminate it immediately and check when you pick up the receiver the next time that you have got a dialling tone. If you haven’t got a dialling tone it means the scammers have kept your line open and can still hear you when the receiver is lifted. Replace the receiver several times to try and clear the call. In the unlikely event that doesn’t work use a neighbours phone or a mobile and call your telephone provider and ask them to test and clear the line.

If you receive one of these calls then please inform the Police on 101 or Crimestoppers  on 0800 555 1111. Alternatively you can call Warwickshire Trading Standards on 01926 410410.