Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 13^th September 2023

Good morning, we have received several reports of scams this week, one of which a lady in the Algarve receiving a call from an automated line “saying they were the GNR that her ID card had been used in illegal activity and there is a warrant out for her arrest! It asked her to press 1 to be put through to the police. She pressed 1, but the call ID was from Croatia. A man answered in English (who sounded Indian or Pakistani) and asked for her name and postcode whereupon she hung up.

The other involves the following message received by someone on WhatsApp this morning, and being widely shared. It was brought to Safe Communities Portugal’s attention: it states.  “Don’t open anything on What’s App  Called Seismic Waves Car – showing photos of earthquake in Morocco and will pirate your phone in 10 seconds  Nothing can stop it Don’t Open it”

HOWEVER we have researched this and please read the following: The Seismic Wave Card is a hoax, incapable of hacking phones or stealing personal info. The claim that the card can hack phones is false; the card doesn’t exist in reality. The scam message is designed to exploit fears and anxieties; it lacks credibility. This scam relies on exploiting the anxieties and uncertainties of those affected by the earthquake, spreading misinformation and fear. “The assertion that the Moroccan earthquake seismic wave card can hack phones is unequivocally false. This is a baseless rumour circulating online.

It is unthinkable that in a major catastrophe such as this with over two thousands deaths that anyone can get any sort pleasure by spreading misinformation and fear. If you receive this do not share simply delete.

Yesterday Safe Communities Portugal gave a presentation at the Amigos do Museu São Brás de Alportel Coffee Morning kindly organized by Cliff Newton. Attending from Safe Communities were David Thomas President, Jane Thomas and Mike Evans member of the management team. Around 39 people attended and subjects discussed were, crime prevention, on-line scams, rural fires, land cleaning, major disaster preparedness. Great engagement and atmosphere as well as excellent questions. Very nice to see people who attended our events in the area some years ago. We are already discussing joint events for the future.

Now that earthquake disaster is on every social media we remember that each year government conducts a national earthquake awareness exercise.  The National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) promotes, usually in November, the national seismic risk awareness exercise, called “A TERRA TREME”. Safe Communities Portugal has supported this each year in a number of ways.

This initiative is part of the activities that form part of the National Strategy for Preventive Civil Protection and aims to empower the population to know how to act before, during and after an earthquake, sensitizing citizens to the fact of living in a risk society, and challenging themselves o to get involved in the process of building safer and more resilient communities. The exercise comprises the practice of 3 simple gestures that can make a difference to those who practice them in the face of an earthquake.

The action takes place during one (1) minute, in which the participants, individually or collectively, are invited to perform the 3 self-protection gestures: DROP, COVER, HOLD. We will be providing more information about this year’s exercise as soon as it becomes available.

Lastly with thunderstorms around and two people struck by lightning a few days ago, a reminder. Use the 30 second rule to determine the threat level of lightning. This rule is simple and consists of counting the seconds between seeing lightning and hearing the thunder. If this value is less than 30 seconds, seek shelter.

During a thunderstorm: Never stay under a tall, isolated tree. Most thunderstorm victims are struck when they seek shelter under a tree; avoid being near trees, communication towers, electricity poles, metal fences, etc; Check that you are not at the highest altitude in the surrounding area. Do not remain isolated on the top of a hill, in an open field, or on the beach, you’ll be the highest point around and may attract lightning for that reason alone. If you are in an open field and you see a possible thunderstorm arriving seek shelter in a low-lying area such as a ravine or valley – never lie down in an open field.

Our team art Safe Communities wish you a safe week ahead

News

Portuguese in the EP want more action to combat natural disasters that are a daily occurrence

Strasbourg, September 12, 2023 (Lusa) – Portuguese MEPs insisted today on the need for more investment from the European Union (EU) to prevent natural disasters and dramatized that catastrophic meteorological phenomena are already part of the daily lives of European citizens.

“Every year we regret the fires, the drought, the deaths, the floods”, began by saying the social democrat José Manuel Fernandes, who is part of the political family of the European People’s Party (EPP), during a debate in the European Parliament (PE) in Strasbourg, on the prevention of disasters such as heat waves, floods and forest fires.

“More than words”, continued the MEP, actions are needed and the 27 “are not doing what they are supposed to do”: “We don’t lack money, you have storms of millions.”

And he criticized the socialist Government in Portugal, for rejecting “8,300 million euros for the loan aspect of the Recovery and Resilience Plan [PRR] that it could use”, in the view of José Manuel Fernandes for “forest planning, helping the rural world” and prepare for dry periods with irrigation aid.

Despite criticism of national political decisions, at European level there appears to be consensus on this matter.

Socialist MEP Sara Cerdas, from Socialists & Democrats (S&D), called for “greater preparation” among the 27 and “more effective responses” that can minimize the consequences of increasingly severe meteorological phenomena.

“Extreme heat waves, floods, forest fires are already part of our daily lives”, so he called for more action, quickly.

Communist MEP João Pimenta Lopes, who belongs to the Left in the EP, highlighted the lack of appropriate funding and “support for disaster prevention” which has consequences for most EU citizens.

“Instead, we see the reduction or diversion of cohesion funds and other funds to fuel the profits of, among others, energy and armaments groups,” he added.

Much of the territory of European Union countries has been hit by extreme weather phenomena in recent years. In the last four months, for example, there have been heat waves across the EU, floods and large forest fires that have destroyed homes and ended up causing casualties. 

Tuk-tuk driver caught trafficking drugs at Albufeira Rally

The driver of a tourist motorized tricycle, known as a “tuk-tuk”, was arrested during the Albufeira Rally, after being seen handing over “several packages of cocaine” to another person, the Command said this Tuesday. GNR territory of Faro.

The suspect was arrested in flagrante delicto on a public street last Saturday. In addition to the packages of cocaine, the GNR soldiers patrolling the rally seized 290 euros in cash from the 34-year-old tuk-tuk driver.

The GNR then carried out searches of the same man’s house and vehicle, seizing three more doses of cocaine, 552 doses of hashish and cannabis, and almost 12 thousand euros in cash.

The detainee was brought before the Portimão Judicial Court, where a criminal investigation judge decided to release him, with the obligation to report twice a week to the police station in his area of ​​residence.