At approximately 2.55am on 5 October 2011, Police were alerted to an alarm activation at the IGA Supermarket, Victoria Street George Town.

Police discovered the front window to the business had been smashed and offenders had entered the premises. The offenders had approached the ATM and attempted to gain access. Minor damage was caused to the ATM but entry not gained.

The offenders were last seen leaving the area in an early model Ford utility.

Police would like to hear from anyone who may have heard any unusual activity or witnessed the incident during the earlier hours of this morning.

At 10pm on Monday 3 October, 2011 an attempted robbery occurred at the McDonalds restaurant, South Launceston.

At this time a male youth has entered the store and made demands for food and for cash, whilst stating he had a knife.  He made threats to patrons and staff.  

Police were contacted by staff inside the store and they located the youth still inside making demands.

The youth was arrested inside the store.   A 13 year old male youth has been charged with attempted robbery and has been detained for appearance in Court.  No one was injured and no weapon was located.

Launceston CIB is continuing enquiries in relation to the matter.

At approximately 1.15am on 28 September 2011 a male approached the office at the United Service Station, Green Point Road, Bridgewater and threatened the male attendant with a weapon. The offender has then left the service station on foot with an amount of cash.

Bridgewater Uniform Officers and Eastern CIB Detectives attended the scene and investigations are continuing. The male offender is described as approximately 20 years of age, 175cm tall, medium build, wearing light coloured trousers, white sandshoes and a brown hooded top.

Police are requesting that anyone with information relating to this matter contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or Eastern CIB 62302318. Information can be left anonymously.

At about 8.15 pm on Monday, 5th of September 2011, a man armed with a weapon entered the Black Stallion Hotel located at Rocherlea.  The male then threatened staff and made demands for money.

A quantity of cash was given to the offender who then fled the scene.

The man is described as approximately 170 cm tall, wearing a dark hooded jumper, dark trousers and gloves.

Anybody who may have any information is requested to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or the Northern Criminal Investigation Branch on 6336 3915.

About 6.15pm on Wednesday the 31st of August 2011, a male, armed with a knife, entered the Tote, located at Invermay Rd, Invermay.

The male demanded and received money from an employee. He then ran from the rear of the premises.

The male offender was wearing blue jeans, a black  jacket, sunglasses and dark beanie.

On Tuesday 23 August 2011 at approximately 7:50pm a male person armed with a firearm entered the Hungry Jacks Restaurant in South Launceston where he made demands for money.

Several customers were dining in the restaurant at the time and no one was injured during the robbery. An amount of cash was given to the offender who then fled from the restaurant.

The offender is described as being male, approximately 175cms tall, aged in his early 20’s wearing a balaclava, gloves, khaki green jacket covering a grey hooded top and dark trousers.

Launceston CIB Detectives are currently investigating the incident and ask anyone with information or who may be able to assist to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Northern CIB on 6336 3915.

SCAMwatch (www.scamwatch.gov.au) advise they are receiving reports with a new twist on the computer remote access scam, with callers now claiming to be from (or affiliated with) Telstra or BigPond.

This is a variation on an existing scam in which scammers, apparently operating out of overseas call centres, falsely claim to be making tech support calls from Microsoft or Windows. The scams typically work in the following manner:
– Victims receive a scam call out of the blue and the caller claims to be from a large telecommunications or computer company/brand such as Telstra, BigPond, Microsoft or Windows;
– Callers tell the victim that their computer has been sending them error messages or that it has a virus;
– They may mention false problems with victims’ internet connection or phone line, which they say may have affected the victims’ phone and computer’s recent performance. They may also claim that victims’ broadband connection has been hacked.
– They will request remote access to the victim’s computer and if a victim say yes, will run a ‘scan’ that shows up a fake virus;
– They will try to trick victims into buying unnecessary software or a service to ‘fix’ the computer. They may also ask for personal and bank/credit card details; and
– The scammer may initially sound professional and knowledgeable however they will be very persistent and may become abusive if you don’t do what they ask.

Advice on how to stay safe from these scammers:
– Telstra has advised that it does not request credit card details over the phone to fix computer or telephone technical problems, and that it is not affiliated with any companies that do.  Telstra will also not call requesting personal details;
– If you receive a phone call out of the blue about your computer and requesting remote access – hang up – even if they mention a well-known company such as Telstra;
– Never give an unsolicited caller remote access to your computer;
– If you have given remote access to your computer, or you fear that your computer has been hacked, seek out help or advice from a qualified and reputable computer technician;
– Never give your personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source;
– Make sure your computer is protected with regularly updated anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and a good firewall – research first and only purchase software from a source that you know and trust;
– If you have fallen victim to a scam or you receive a lot of unsolicited emails and phone calls consider changing your email address and phone numbers; and
– If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

Scams, such as this, can be reported to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission via the ‘report a scam’ link on their SCAMwatch website (www.scamwatch.gov.au) or by calling 1300 795 995.

Approximatley 6.25pm on Tuesday, 26^th July 2011, a male person entered the ‘Stroll Inn’ Milk Bar at 67 Havelock Street, Smithton.  The male, who was in possession of a large knife, threatened staff requesting cash from the til. A quantity of cash was obtained from the til of the store and the offender left the store on foot.

The male suspect was last seen running west on Havelock Street. The male was dressed in a dark striped hoodie jumper, dark trousers and wearing a balaclava.

Tasmania Police are requesting  assistance from members of the public who may have information in relation to the matter, to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or the Smithton/Burnie Police Station.

At about 9.15pm Tuesday 26 July 2011, two males entered the Mowbray Hotel Gaming Room and robbed the gaming attendant at knifepoint.

The two offenders went to the gaming room, one jumped the bar and threatened the gaming attendant with a knife and took an undiscolsed amount of money.

They both left the hotel and got into a red 1989 Nissan Skyline with no registration plates.

The bar attendant was not injured during the robbery.

Both of the offenders were male, had their faces covered, one wearing dark clothing, slim build, over 6ft tall and the other, slim build, shorter than first, grey track pants, light coloured zip front jacket.

Any information regarding the identify of the offenders and the red Nissan Skyline contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or Launceston Criminal Investigation Branch (03) 6336 3910.

Police are appealing for information in relation to a number of stealing offences that were committed statewide on 30 June 2011.

Between 8.30am and 1.30pm on that date, an unknown male person has deceived staff at businesses in Rosny Park and Legana. This male employs a process designed to confuse staff, leading to the return of extra funds following a cash purchase.

The pictured male may be able to assist police with enquiries in relation to this matter; he is described as being in his 40’s, medium stocky build, approximately 6 foot tall, fair skinned with a shaved head. He has a distinctive English accent.