11
Nov
2015
By Calvin at 11:16 GMT, 10 years ago
Back in August I posted a little investigative story into a not quite as it seemed to be crime prevention publication called NCPA
Here’s what I said back in August: (edited)
Yesterday, I was contacted by a locksmith who had been in conversation with a ‘crime prevention’ website I’d never heard of.
This is his email to me, thinking that it had been me who had made the phone call to him:
Hi. I received a phone call and agreed to put our business in the magazine. I was told I would receive a copy of our advert and the magazine in a week or so. Just wondering where it was up to and if I could see it?
I wrote back and said it certainly wasn’t me and was he sure this magazine was genuine.
He wrote back:
Hi, sorry, but could I send you an email they have sent me so you could see if it is real or not or is there an email address I could send this to as they want £195 off me in two weeks?
He sent me the email with attached advertising artwork which said this:
Dear Customer,
We are proud to present you with your proof copy of artwork for inclusion in your publication. We trust that the proof is accurate and that there will be no need for amendments to be made. However if you do wish to make any changes then for your convenience we can now take these instructions by telephone, fax or email. Any amendments will be made completely free of charge so please ensure that telephone numbers, website/email addresses, postal address etc are correct. Please be aware that unless we receive notification of any amendments to the attached copy within 5 days from the postmark date we will proceed with this copy. This campaign is now completed. Please remember, your space in the magazine is now booked, and although this proof may be amended, it is not subject to approval and cancellations can no longer be accepted as per our terms and conditions.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you again for your act of kindness and support, we wish you all the very best. [Act of kindness? - what's that all about?]
0800 019 8603 (Note the telephone number and no name given)
I did a quick check on the 0800 phone number at www.shouldianswer.co.uk and found the following remarks:
1.Claims to be from a crime prevention agency in Merseyside, has Facebook and Twitter accounts. Website is registered in America, and is non-traceable. Facebook has links to Irish police forces not local, there is no business profile, registration or official listing of the company/organisation at the address. Calls himself Liam, wants money for advertising
2. Contacted me and was very convincing. At first I was taken in by the website but became dubious about the content, only adding links, nobody has actually seen the magazine, there is a scam-aware listed for the website. Anyone can set up an 0800 number and have it diverted to their mobile, again, not traceable.
I then visited their website at http://www.ncpa.tv/ and found the following:
- The URL ends in .tv (See Wiki about .tv); a bit odd for a supposedly UK based website
- NCPA possibly stands for National Crime Prevention Association, which actually is a long-standing US organisation and certainly does not have anything to do with this site
- Overuse of police pictures
- Odd use of English language:
Example 1: We are proud to give the option to view our most recent publications free of charge. By clicking on the covers you can read our magazines as an ezine. [Proud? Note there are no adverts in it]
Example 2: The magazine will focus on the work of the police, ambulance and fire service, but will also pay homage to the outstanding work carried out by the other emergency workers.......[Pay homage?]
Example 3: Read their strange stuff about so-called 'Stable Watch' in the tab ‘Publications’
- No cookie message, no contact name and only a 0845 telephone number, no terms and conditions, not a lot of anything really.
Whoever this is, they make unsolicited telephone calls to encourage you to take an advert out in a magazine (I’ve not seen the magazine in print by the way) and want £195 for that service.
Since I posted the story I had these three posts in reply
Tracy 16 days ago
Just got a call from them today, and while I was on the phone with them, I Googled, and found your website, which is the point in time I said, "No, sorry, don't think I'll be taking out any advertising in your magazine, sorry."
So thank you for that.
I didn't THINK I'd heard of them before. Now I *KNOW* I hadn't.
But, to be fair on them, the girl I was talking to only wanted £150 plus VAT (would that be £195? Maybe.) for my business-card-sized advert.
Casey a Month ago
Hi there, I just had a call from "Scott". He offered me various levels of advertising in a magazine I have never heard of, to be distributed I am not sure where.
I advised him after listening that I would take time to see how it can fit into our plans and I would let him know on Monday.
National Crime Prevention Association sounds like a community organisation so I was wary at the .tv end to the website and now looking at these reviews it seems I am right to question.
They claimed to be sponsored by Royal Mail for their distribution. While I think this is as much as I will hear from them I hope I have flagged some of the points that raised my guard.
Michelle a Month ago
I've had this exact email. I, unfortunately, agreed to pay but haven't given any bank details.
Since then I had an email from 'Fred' whose company was approached by NCPA just last week on the phone. Because he thought the whole thing to be suspicious he recorded the conversation and has very kindly sent me the recording. The NCPA representative is having difficulty with his speech and some people might think he’s drunk. You can make your own mind up. Also he doesn’t cut the call off at the end of the conversation and lets out an interesting noise/expletive, which is very funny! Here is the recording below:
My message is simple: Do please be wary about dealing with cold callers on the phone trying to sell you stuff. Do your homework first and you make first contact.
