Training Info Files

Here are some of the methods that fraudsters use to take advantage of our trusting nature!

Phone Call from your Bank.

A telephone call is received saying that your bank account has been targeted by fraudsters. They ask you to call the number on the back of your debit card but they manage to intercept the call, usually by holding the line open,and instead of talking to your bank you are still talking to the fraudsters. They advise you that all the money in your account should be transferred to a secure holding account and will talk you through how to do this. Needless to say your money is now in accounts controlled by the fraudsters,

DO NOT CALL THEM BACK USING THE SAME TELEPHONE AS THE INITIAL CALL WAS TAKEN ON!!

Emails from Bank or HMRC.

These are aimed at obtaining your bank details which are of great value to fraudsters. Thus you may receive an email purporting to be from your bank, asking you to confirm your account details so they can prevent fraudulent withdrawals from your account. Similarly, there are bogus emails from HMRC stating that you are due a refund of income tax ot tax credits and to provide your bank details in order to receive the repayment.

The golden rule rule is never to provide your bank details to anyone on the phone or over the internet. A clever variation on this was where a fraudster obtained a list of shareholders in one of the companies that dairy farmers received shares in when the old MMB was disbanded. The caller claimed to be from a stockbroker who had a client willing to buy shares and was willing to pay considerably more than market price. This did not make sense and it was concluded that is was all a ruse to obtain bank account details.

IF IN ANY DOUBT DO NOT OPEN THE EMAIL JUST DELETE IT.

Advertisments in Publications and Directories.

It is very easy to be talked into an advert in a publication, particularly when the funds appear to be going to a good cause. However, do you know if the publication actually exists or what proportion of your money actually ends up with the charity?

Another variation is where a letter is received suggesting that businessess are required to list their VAT registration numbers in the “UK Corporate Portal 2014” and in the small print it says that this will cost £797. There is no obligation to do this and there is unlikely to be any benefit to a business from such a listing.

THE ADVICE IS ALWAYS TO BE VILGILANT OF UNSOLICITED APPROACHES WHETHER THESE ARE TELEPHONE CALLS, EMAILS OR LETTERS. TECHNOLOGY IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING, BUT FRAUDSTERS ARE ALSO CONTINUOUSLY ADAPTING THEIR METHODS TO EXTRACT FUNDS FROM YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS.

Health and Safey Executive Safety Alert – Telehandlers

HSE’s Agriculture sector are asking all Lantra Instructors who deliver telescopic lift truck training to ensure their learners are made aware of the following safety information:
1. Using a telescopic materials handler (telehandler) fitted with a grain bucket to drive in fence posts may be widespread practice in farming. However, it is inherently dangerous, and the risks created by this unsafe practice have been highlighted once again following a fatal accident on a farm in the summer of 2013.
2. Since 2007 there have been at least six reported incidents involving this unsafe practice. Four of these incidents have resulted in a fatality. Given the level of under-reporting in the industry, it is highly likely that there have been many more accidents and near misses that have not been reported.
3. The people killed or injured in these incidents have typically been holding the fence post in close proximity to the machine whilst the bucket was lowered onto the post by the telehandler.
4. Using a telehandler to drive in fence posts is dangerous as the person holding the fence post is at risk of serious injury. Risks include:
• being struck or run over by the telehandler.
• being struck by the bucket if either the machine or boom/bucket move unexpectedly,
• being crushed or trapped by the bucket if it becomes detached from the machine, or if the fence post breaks.
5. The bucket is particularly likely to become detached in these circumstances, because the action of pushing down on the fence post will tend to lift the bucket out of the attachment mechanism.
6. Typically, buckets (and other attachments) are locked in place by hydraulic locking pins that form part of the attachment mechanism. The locking pins are operated by a control in the machine’s cab. In three of the reported incidents it is thought likely that this control had been inadvertently operated at some point, causing the bucket to become detached when it was pressed down on the fence post.
7. The controls for the locking pins are often shared with the auxiliary service (or third service) that provides a supply to hydraulically operated attachments (e.g. a bale grab). Operation can be switched between the locking pins and the auxiliary service by a manual valve; when switched to the auxiliary service the locking pins are unable to move. Telehandlers are usually also provided with a separate switch in the cab that electrically disables the control for the locking pins and auxiliary service. Using either, or both, of these devices should prevent the locking pins from being inadvertently released.
8. It is essential that buckets and other attachments are securely held on the machine, irrespective of the work being undertaken. However, telehandlers are not suitable for driving fence posts or similar objects and their use in this way is dangerous and does not comply with legal requirements. Machinery and attachments should only be used for the purpose for which they are designed and within the limits specified by the manufacturer. Purpose designed post-driving equipment is widely available and this equipment should be used where mechanical assistance is required.
9. To reduce the risk of injury, telehandler operators should always follow safe working practices when operating the machine and in particular:
• understand the function and operation of all the controls
• know the correct procedures to secure and release buckets and other attachments
• understand and follow the information provided in the operators manual
• be aware of tasks for which the machine and attachments are suitable
• be properly trained in accordance with the HSE Approved Code of practice L117 Rider operated lift trucks – operator training and safe use
Key message: Don’t use the bucket on a telescopic materials handler to drive-in fence posts. It is dangerous and illegal.

Please click on the link if you would like to pay your membership fee online.

http://bit.ly/1kodyQu

As a City and Guilds centre we are able to offer the Animal Transport Certificate of Competence from only £85 plus VAT.

We are able to schedule these tests to suit your schedule with a few days notice. For a small charge ( subject to Mileage) we can even bring the examination to you!!

Please call NOW to discuss your requirements

Please remember that if a young persons passed their test after 1st Janaury 1997 they will need to pass another driving test using the trailer to enable them to pull a trailer or caravan behind a car or land rover. This is the B + E section of the driving licence.

Please be aware that if you do not hold an upto date NPTC cetificate you will NOT be able to purchase Talunex products after 1st January 2015. Please call on 01609 882408 to book your course.

We run PA1 Safe Use of Pesticides, PA2 Mounted Sprayer, PA4S Slug Pelleting and PA6 Knapsack Sprayer each month.

Please call the office on 01609 882408 to make sure you have the relevant qualifications.