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Whilst we have mainly focused with Online Fraud in these weekly updates, criminals still make use of phone calls, both to landlines and mobiles, to defraud people out of their money.
Older persons may be particularly vulnerable as they rely on their phones for contact and companionship, so it is helpful to make elderly relatives aware of the dangers of cold callers.
These calls involve fraudsters trying to gain your personal and financial information and are often referred to as “Vishing” – an amalgamation of “Voice” and “Phishing”.
Very often the fraudster has disguised their call identity by using an apparently legitimate number so appearing genuine; this is known as “Spoofing”. If you do receive an unexpected call from a company you do not recognise, then just hang up, and do not engage with that caller.
Engaging not only tells the caller that the line is active but also one of the latest scams uses Artificial intelligence – A.I. – to clone your voice. This may be just by asking a simple question or in some case asking you to participate in a “lifestyle survey” or similar, so then your voice can be used to target friends and family, or even used as voice recognition to manipulate bank accounts
What are the common types of Phone Call Scams
Bank Scams – Criminals may call you about “fraudulent” use of your bank account or cards. Remember banks will never ask you for your PIN or tell you to hand over your bank cards to a so-called courier
Technical Support scams - They may impersonate a company such as Microsoft or BT, and tell you there is a fault on your computer or Broadband. They then probably will ask you to download remote access software to gain access to your computer, or else install Malware on your computer.
Impersonation Scams - Typically these may claim to come from your “Bank Fraud Department” telling you that your account or bank cards have been compromised and you need to transfer money to another so-called Safe Account, from where it vanishes. Similarly, calls may come from fraudsters masquerading as a Police Officer, Utility Provider, HMRC or DVLA.
Prize Draw Scams – “You have won the Lottery or a Prize Draw!” Sounds good, but is it? You may think you never entered the competition, but they will convince you that you have, then ask for your bank details so you can “receive” the prize
Financial Scams – you are called with tempting offers for investing your money in funds, schemes or perhaps in Bitcoins with the promise of huge returns. Since 2019, it has been illegal to make cold calls to sell Pension schemes, so any calls about Pension Schemes will be scams. This scheme may be extended in the future to ban any unsolicited financial cold calls.
How can you stay safe?
Never give out your financial information over the phone, and just hang up if you are unsure about the caller’s identity
Register for “TPS” - Telephone Preference Service - this prevents bona fide companies cold calling you, so you will then know that any cold call is a fake.
Many modern landline handsets have a “Call Blocking” feature so unwanted numbers can be added to the list of Blocked Callers. Separate programmable Call Blocker units are also available to protect users
Similarly, many phone service providers can offer other call blocking services such as BT Call Guardian
Scammers will often keep the phone line open after the call so even when you think you are calling a legitimate number you are still speaking to the fraudster. Wait for up to 15 minutes or make the call using a different phone line or mobile
You can also check suspicious numbers via the Call Checking website - https://who-called.co.uk/
Please feel free to share these messages with any vulnerable friends, relatives or neighbours
THE SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL PARISH OF HIGHLEY, Footpath 39
PUBLIC PATH DIVERSION ORDER 2026.
THE SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL Parish OF HIGHLEY, FOOTPATH 37 (part)
PUBLIC PATH EXTINGUISHMENT ORDER 2026.
As Parish Council, I am serving you with a copy of a legal notice about the above-named Rights of Way Order made by Shropshire Council on 29th January 2026, along with a copy of the Order and a statement of reasons for making the order.
The notice tells you what changes the Council are proposing to make to the Definitive Map and Statement of Rights of Way.
I also enclose a copy of the Order. This is the legal document which describes the proposals in more detail. The map attached to the Order show the proposed changes.
If you have any questions, please contact me.
Kind regards
Kate Nore
Rights of Way Planning Support Officer
Mapping & Enforcement Team
Shropshire Outdoor Partnerships
An increasing number of people are falling victim to romance fraud, which does not only cause financial harm, but may also inflict emotional and mental damage on those victims.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, romance may be high on many people’s agenda as they seek an appropriate way to celebrate the day. However, at the same time criminals are using this as an opportunity to devise new scams to defraud their victims on Dating Sites and social media.
At this time of the year there is a rise in Romance Frauds as the fraudsters draw their victims into false relationship, gain their confidence, before the requests for money start to come in. These are accompanied by heart rending pleas about personal, or family problems, and emergencies which need finance.
Are any platforms safe?
Fraudsters continue to target users of popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as dating sites such as Tinder and Plenty of Fish, and many others.
Messaging sites such as Google Hangouts and WhatsApp may also be used to find unsuspecting victims.
As well as conventional dating platforms, online Gaming platforms may be used to seek potential victims since there are fewer protective measures in place.
Who are their targets?
Females over 40 years are common victims as well as younger males, but users also need to be aware on age related dating platforms too.
How does it work?
Basically, criminals will go to great lengths to gain the victim’s trust by claiming they are in a genuine relationship which is built up over time
They will manipulate and exploit the victim to the extent they are persuaded they are in a real and genuine relationship
They create convincing persona such as military personnel, medical staff, engineers and many others to convince the victim they are genuine
Then, when they ask for money, the victim is convinced there is no problem with the request
The requests can be very emotive citing reasons such as medical emergencies, travel costs, payment of fines or taxes, or even claiming their bank account has been frozen
Another Red flag is “Love Bombing” which is a common technique where the person shows excessive interest in you by way of extreme flattery, strong communicating of their feelings for you and promoting ideas of your future together at a very early stage – beware if they get too serious – too quick.
Tell-tale signs a friend or family member is involved in a Romance Scam
They may be very secretive about their relationship or provide excuses for why their online partner has not video called or met them in person.
They may be unwilling to discuss their online relationship, very often because the fraudster has persuaded you not to tell your family or friends
They may express very strong emotions and commitment to someone they have only just met
They have sent, or are planning to send, money to someone they have not met face-to-face. They may take out loans or withdraw from their pension to send money.
Stay safe
Never send money to someone you have never met in person
Never part with your bank or personal details to strangers online however genuine they claim to be
The fact that they may request payment to another named bank account, not their own, can be another tell-tale sign of a fraudster
Always seek advice from somebody trusted before parting with any money in any format, whether it is bank transfers, PayPal, Gift Cards or bitcoin currencies.
Profile photos are very often fake; you can research any image by doing a “Reverse Image” search to find photos that have been copied from elsewhere.
Never share images of yourself that you would not want your own family and friends to see
SAFER INTERNET DAY 2026
SAFER INTERNET DAY 2026 takes place on 10th February 2026 based on the theme of
“Smart tech, safe choices – exploring the safe & responsible use of AI”
Each year the event covers an online issue/theme relevant to the things younger people see and experience online.
A full set of resources are available online for schools and other organisations covering all young age groups - Safer Internet Day 2026 - UK Safer Internet Centre
Please feel free to share these messages with any vulnerable friends, relatives or neighbours