Crime Alert for the residents of Southport from Merseyside Police

Burglaries

Between the 19^th January and the 2^nd February 2020 burglaries or attempted burglaries have taken place in the following locations:

Sussex Road, Hereford Road (shed), Ashdown Close, Guildford Road (2), Wennington Road, Cobden Road

Attempted burglaries 1, car keys and vehicles stolen 1, Bicycle stolen 1, Property left insecure 1

Theft from Motor Vehicles

Promenade, Queens Road, Cambridge Road, Sussex Road, Crowland Street, Beach Priory Gardens, Balmoral Drive, Lord Street, Coronation Walk, Virginia Street, Princes Street, Southbank Road, Heysham Road, London Street

Vehicles left insecure or entry gained by unknown means 4

Scam

Over a period of time a Sefton resident received correspondence supposedly from PayPal stating he owed £950 and was also over the credit limit by £33.95. Because he didn’t have a PayPal account he ignored the correspondence, but the notifications kept arriving over 20 of them.

He then received an information letter, headed as sent from FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) warning him not to ignore the Arrears notices he had received and with advice on ways of paying a debt. The resident received further letters from a Debt Collecting Service stating the amount owed was £983.95 and offering him help to resolve the problem. All the letters looked very professional and convincing.

The resident contacted PayPal and it was confirmed that he did not have an account with them and therefore owed no money. None of the correspondence had been sent by PayPal.