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First time victims of fraud go on to lose £373 million to repeat frauds – with victims of at least one investment fraud worst affected. Data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) at the City of London Police has revealed that over £373million was lost by repeat victims of fraud in the financial year 2019/20, with the average repeat victim losing £21,121. However, when someone was reporting at least one investment fraud, this figure jumped 300 percent to £84,604.

Council Tax Scam - West Berkshire. Earlier today (17th March 2021) there was a phone call into West Berkshire Council switchboard from an elderly gentlemen advising that a lady called Kimberly Collins, from council tax, had called them to take a payment over the phone for council tax arrears. They were advised no one under that name works for West Berkshire Council. Unfortunately his wife had already given 'Kimberly' their bank card. We are working with the couple to help them see if they can stop the payment.

Summary of traffic weight restrictions monitoring for February. There were 33 monitoring instances during which 20 traffic weight restriction breaches were witnessed.

SME Brexit Support Fund opens for applications. From yesterday (15 March), smaller businesses can apply for grants of up to £2,000 to help them adapt to new customs and tax rules when trading with the EU.

New findings highlight a surge in the proportion of scam and nuisance calls as callers target people over the age of 70 to exploit new and unfamiliar processes associated with COVID-19, such as applying for swab tests and vaccines.

PPP Trading Standards Successful Investigation into Counterfeit Goods at Address in Maidenhead. Following an investigation conducted by the Public Protection Partnership (PPP) Trading Standards Team, Nabeel Ahmed (aged 42) and Nazia Iqbal (aged 41), both of  Boyn Valley Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, were subjected to confiscation orders following a conviction at Reading Crown Court on 22nd January 2020

Roadmap out of lockdown. COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021 The government has published the ‘COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021’, setting out the roadmap out of the current lockdown for England.

Warning for Dog Owners. We have recently been made aware that a number of properties in the South Oxfordshire area have seemingly been marked. The properties have been marked with differing coloured elastic bands, either around the gatepost or wheelie bins. It is believed the properties have been marked due to there being pedigree dogs at the locations.

Have your say on the 'Active Travel' schemes in West Berkshire. West Berkshire Council is committed to encouraging active travel by introducing more walking and cycling opportunities throughout the district.

The year 2020 bought new challenges for all support and enforcement agencies but the Illegal Money Lending Team’s LIAISE Officers quickly adapted their service to offer “business as normal” -intensive support to victims of illegal lenders who engaged with the team.