The Bee News have recently reported on the latest battle against fraud taking part in Lancashire. The collaboration of Lancashire Police and the Marsden building Society, ran an awareness week from 10th August. The scheme involved highlighting fraud and how to protect your home against the threat of burglary.
Six branches of the Marsden building society were visited by local police teams. The branches involved were:
- Barrowford
- Burnley
- Colne
- Garstang
- Lytham
- Nelson
At each of the six locations, neighbourhood police attended between 10am and 2pm to discuss potential fraudulent scams that may affect members of the building society.
During the awareness week, Lancashire Police Inspector Martin Kane stated …
“The week is all about educating people to be vigilant and to always question anything that doesn’t look or feel right … Scams can come in many guises, from online dating, door to door cold calling, to phishing emails asking for bank details, but the message is clear. Remember: Think, Check, Act.”
Anybody can fall victim of a fraudulent act or scam, although in truth a large percentage of such victims are the elderly. Staff at the Marsden building society have been trained to know their customers and therefore, identify unusual banking transactions. In turn, this could ultimately prevent a member from becoming a victim of fraud.
Heather Crinion from the Marsden stated …
“As a local mutual for 150 years we have built up trust with our members. Our focus is to ensure that members are protected and their finances are safe. The week will be a great opportunity to educate our members on how to keep their homes safe and to be vigilant around their finances … We are pleased to be partnering with Lancashire Constabulary over this week to build awareness for a cause that is very important to the Society, our staff and most importantly, our members.”
Anyone can sign up to the free service ‘In The Know’, provided by Lancashire Police. You will receive news and updates about crime in your area by email, text or voice message please visit: In the know – Lancashire.