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Clamp down on scammers
A HIGH-profile campaign is being launched in Maidstone to alert residents to the dangers of scammers. Recent research has revealed that scammers are making more than £10 billion per year from a variety of scams, tricking unsuspecting householders out of their savings and hard-earned cash. The youngest known victim in Maidstone is 47 and the eldest aged 98 – but many victims are so em- barrassed at having been duped, they are unwilling to admit it. Martin Sherwood (pictured), community warden for Bearsted, Har- rietsham and Lenham, spent two hours with one elderly lady who said she had been too afraid and embarrassed to tell her family what had happened. He said: “It’s important that
these things are talked about openly in families so everyone is aware of what is going on and what kind of tricks are out there.A reluctance to discuss it is one sure sign that something is going on and people need to be aware of that.”
Information packs, including a
DVD, are available as part of a na- tionwide alert “Think Jessica”, based on the story of one elderly lady whowas conned out of cash. Jessica was repeatedly tricked
into sending cash and making money transfers to criminals in the space of five years.When she died, aged 83, she was still waiting for her promised prizes – and almost
30,000 scam letters were removed from her home. “Her family tried to make her understand she was being scammed but the psychology the criminals used was so powerful that she refused to believe it,” said Martin.
Although scammers tend to tar-
get the elderly and vulnerable, no- body is immune, he said. In one part of the country, a 17-year-old was tricked into parting with money. Kent County Council and the Trading Standards Institute have joined forces with Action Fraud in the “Think Jessica” campaign and Martin, along with other commu- nitywardens, has advisory leaflets on the differing types of scam. These include advice scams in- volving lottery and prize draws, clairvoyancy, catalogue and brochures, couriers, banks and building societies, PPI, parcel de- livery and prize-holding. If you have been caught out once,
the dangers intensify as scammers make lists of the people they have tricked – called “suckers lists” – which they then sell to other scam- mers worldwide, resulting in more mail and fake phone calls. They even create convincingwebsites. Martin said: “You do not have to
get into any discussions over the phone with anyone – and never give out personal information. Keep your business your busi- ness.” TheMaidstone community war-
dens are happy to spend time ex- plaining the types of scams to concerned residents. Details of your localwarden can be found on the
KCC website,
www.kent.gov.uk. Motorcyclist killed on M25
A MAIDSTONE motorcyclist was killed in a collision on the M25 in Essex, near the Dartford crossing. Paul Garner (53) was involved in an accident with an HGV. Stana Caltun (35) from Romania was charged with causing death by dan- gerous driving and remanded to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on November 23.
Road closed for gas works
BOWER Lane will be closed from Upper Fant Road to outside numbers 46-48 and Upper Fant Road will be closed fromBower Lane to outside the Spar store for up to 10 days from October 30 for work on gas mains. The one-way order on Bower Lane will also be reversed to allow for ac-
cess. The alternative route forBower Lane southbound traffic is viaBower Place and Bower Lane, and for northbound traffic is via Florence Road, Charles Street,Westree Road,A26 Tonbridge Road, St Michael’s Road and Upper Fant Road. The alternative route for Upper Fant Road is via St Michael’s Road,A26 Tonbridge Road, A20 Terrace Road/London Road, A26 Tonbridge Road, Westree Road, Charles Street, Florence Road and Bower Lane.
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Maidstone Town November 2015 13
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