A police fraud expert issued a reminder that pensions ‘cold-calling’ was illegal – as he spoke to Neighbourhood Watch members about online safety.

Mark Godsland, of Thames Valley Police’s cyber crime unit, was invited to speak to Oxford Neighbourhood Watch group leaders and members about the scale of online fraud and how to keep themselves safe on the internet.

There were the usual warnings about having different passwords for different accounts and changing the passcode for newly-bought hi-tech kit like Amazon Alexa.

But he also had a simple message for those concerned about getting scammed by fraudsters on the phone or by text message or email: don’t engage.

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Mr Godsland said of cold-calls purporting to be from the bank or security companies: “The problem is that if you engage with that, even to the point of you saying ‘I haven’t got a Microsoft account, I haven’t got Apple’, they are gathering data.

“If you get that phone call, put the phone down.”

And he reminded his audience at the Word Fountain church on Hollow Way that the government had banned cold-calls about pensions in 2019.

“The Financial Conduct Authority is really stamping down on it – and quite rightly,” he said.

“So, if you get that kind of call you know it is someone who doesn’t know the rules or they’re trying to scam you.”

The government is currently considering a similar ban on cold-callers selling all financial products. A consultation on the proposals ended last month.

Maggie Lewis of Oxford Neighbourhood Watch, who invited Mr Godsland to speak, said: “Everybody is capable of being scammed. My passion is, really, to stop people from becoming victims of crime and the way to do that is crime prevention.”

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The talk was attended by the Lord Mayor, Cllr Lubna Arshad, and Mandy Massam of Age UK Oxfordshire, which offers advice to those who have been defrauded or are concerned about being scammed.

The charity also has a digital champions network to help older people get online or set up computers or iPads. For more, you can call Age UK Oxfordshire on 0345 450 1276.

To report a fraud, contact Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040.

Most mobile phone providers allow their customers to forward suspicious text messages to number 7726. Suspicious ‘phishing’ emails can be forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk.