Had a call this morning…02081619840… which is a scam about loft insulation, and a supposed government grant. Give him short shrift and blocked the number, also reported it to The Scam Numbers Website.
A ‘Blagging with the Lagging’ John…
I’ve never heard of the Scam Numbers Website, but if it turns out to be as effective as the Telephone Preference Service, I shouldn’t waste my time.
My philosophy is to never trust anyone until you are sure beyond all doubt.
Quite true JB…
Email and telephone are not methods that I would trust for anyone important to contact me, so I never take them seriously…
Here is part of another scam notification I received from the police today.
Apparently these fraudsters are specifically targeting us oldies :
What is Courier Fraud?
Courier fraud occurs when a fraudster contacts victims by telephone purporting to be a police officer or bank official. To substantiate this claim, the caller might be able to confirm some easily obtainable basic details about the victim such as their full name and address.
The caller may also offer a telephone number for the victim to telephone or ask the victim to call the number on the back of their bank card to check that they are genuine. In these circumstances, either the number offered will not be genuine or, where a genuine number is suggested, the fraudster will stay on the line and pass the victim to a different individual.
After some trust has been established, the fraudster will then, for example, suggest;
Some money has been removed from a victim’s bank account and staff at their local bank branch are responsible.
Suspects have already been arrested but the “police” need money for evidence.
A business such as a jewellers or currency exchange is operating fraudulently and they require assistance to help secure evidence.
Victims are then asked to co-operate in an investigation by attending their bank and withdrawing money, withdrawing foreign currency from an exchange or purchasing an expensive item to hand over to a courier for examination who will also be a fraudster.
At the time of handover, unsuspecting victims are promised the money they’ve handed over or spent will be reimbursed but in reality there is no further contact and the money is never seen again.
Protect yourself
Your bank or the at your bank. If it’s cancelled, you should destroy it yourself.
Spot the signs
Someone claiming to be from your bank or local police force calls you to tell you about fraudulent activity but is asking you for personal information or even your PIN to verify who you are.
They’re offering you to call back so you can be sure they’re genuine, but when you try to return the call there’s no dial tone.
They try to offer you peace of mind by having somebody pick up the card for you to save you the trouble of having to go to your bank or local police station.We received a scam email a couple of days ago supposedly from TV Licensing about renewing our licence. A few spelling mistakes and incorrect licence number made me suspicious. Phoned TV Licensing and they confirmed the spam.
[I]
Date: 01 Sep 2020
Dear ******,
You’re about to lose your TV License.
Act now, before it’s to late.
Tomorrow is your last chance to remain licensed.
You won’t be covered if you let your licence expire.
Your TV Licence details:
Licence number: 3737783908063171
Licence expiry date: 02 Sep 2020
You can view, download or print your licence on our website. Please keep a record of your licence number, as you’ll need this whenever you log in.
Set up your direct debit
Want to make changes?
Sign in below to:
• Update your contact or bank details
• Tell us you’ve moved hom
Sign in
[/I]
Yes, spelling mistakes are a dead giveaway.
Fortunately, most scammers are (like reusable condoms) ‘a little thick’!
Another dodgy phone number.
They called tea time today. When I looked the number up, it was marked as ‘Dangerous.’
96 other people had reported it too.
Here’s the number to be aware of:
0191 318 5639
Had a call from 01651205363 today (I did not answer).
“Who Rang Me” web page says the code 01651 is Old Meldrum, in Scotland, and shows about 100 or so phone numbers at that location.
This is what the Old Meldrum Web Site says -
“https://who-called.co.uk/Area-Code/01651
Cloned telephone number using an Oldmeldrum area code - unsolicited call from what appeared to be from a call centre in the Indian sub-continent - I doubt that anyone from Oldmeldrum would have a accent like that and anyone who knows Oldmeldrum would think it an unlikely location for a financial call centre. 19/08/2019: Apparently Virgin media, threatening internet disconnection because of…”
Watch out folks!.
:shock:
A small tip which, you may not like, but which could save you from being scammed:–
When your phone rings, most of us will identify ourselves with our name, when picking it up.
“Hi Fred Bloggs here” or whatever.
Now that there are many scammers who make “automatic calls” using calling machines, which ring every number in a given area, noting which ones react, it’s worth noting that they don’t know your name when you pick up your phone.
Just ask them to tell you who they think that you are!
They usually cannot.
Game Set & Match!
Yes, good point.
To be honest, we never announce our names when answering the phone. Anyway, the majority of our scam phone calls are obviously recordings, ending in the “Press 1” words.
I’ve mentioned before, we have our phone on answerphone all the time, so we always hear who it is before picking up. If it’s an obvious scam call, we just don’t pick up and leave them to it. At the end of each day I delete all the rubbish.
I think the only way we’re going to beat the scam callers is by people realising the problem and not falling for it. To be honest, none of them are really believable.
Nor do I, and I wouldn’t dream of doing that. In fact, I don’t know anyone who does unless they are in business.
There has been a scammer ringing round this area the last few days, and the b***er is using my area code so you think it’s a local number.
I know ‘undesirables’ can buy numbers, so I am assuming that is what has happening here.
had loads emails telling me my paypal account has been suspended until I change my password. It looks pretty authentic too.
For your protection, we have suspended your account because we detected unusual sign-in activity within your account. You can help us unlock your account by cicking on the button link and following the on-screen instructions.
Possible events occurred
Log in attempts from an unusual or unrecognized device or location.
Requesting any operation using unusual pattern.
Fraud activity from your account.
For security reasons, all your account services are unavailable until a response has been received.
Authenticate now
YEAH RIGHT, SOD OFF MR…OR MRS
Grrrr I could right punch them so hard on the nose that I’d break it. I detest these nasty scammers
Yes, I believe they can buy telephone numbers, but who sells them?
Presumably, it is some government authority which controls telephone numbers in this country. If so, don’t they check the identity of applicants?
Well I suppose anyone can claim to have set up a company and request a telephone number, but I would have thought that checks would be made of names and locations and records kept.
If numbers are abused, the issuing authorities should be able to identify the culprits and take action against them, at least closing down the numbers.
Of course, I admit that I don’t really know how these things work.
Email scams
:!: I keep getting emails from: Netflix and numerous IT protection websites saying my subscription had been refused by my bank and wanted my correct bank card details. I have never used any of the companies so they go straight into my spam box.
Had one today thanking me for my Amazon subscription and to press 1 to confirm my details! Needless to say I had not done such a thing.
I feel really really angry when I get these calls. I imagine these wicked idiots being slaughtered for their deception and it makes me feel like a bad person for getting into that state. I think I imagine too strongly how I would feel if I fell for their deception, or even how those who are unfortunate to be dragged into the evil snare would feel.
I believe that these phone calls are automatic, they are done randomly. That is why when you pick up, there is a pause before someone answers. Either in a recorded message or a non English person answered.
If these spammers had to pay for the calls they wouldn’t be as eager to make so many. And as JB says, why can’t they trace these knobs. If I started making obscene or fraudulent phone calls they would be on me like a ton of bricks…
I think that charging isn’t started until the receiver picks up the phone.
Then the scammer has a couple of ways of scoring money.
The scammer cam, therefore, afford to make thousands of phishing calls
-
He talks the person into ringing a hot number and heavy charges follow.
-
He sells the list of “active” numbers to all and sundry.
I find that the best defence is an answer phone, on which we can see the number calling us, and then ignoring any number we don’t know.
(note that the anwering machine effectively picks up the phone…but the spammer will have to pay for any call time used! :-p
(Easier with mobile phones)