👮 Scam phone calls and texts

[DaveJ2717uk]

Told a scammer the other day that his Mother must be really proud of him, scamming people out of their money and wrecking their lives. Didn't go down well got called a lot of names I'd never heard of, must be a language thing hehe!!

[mikeprice]

I have done that in the past when one of them really pushed it

 

I guess he got me on a bad day and annoyed me!!!

 

I honestly don;t think it makes any difference to them - but maybe once in a while it will make someone think

 

As I have said before - a few months ago I started to get the impression that the more I wasted their time - the more calls I started getting

when I stopped and started just hanging up - the calls reduced

 

I suspect - based on just me - that if you annoy them they sometimes flag you name to be put on other lists - thus selling numbers to other competing scammer knowing they are no good

but as a result you get calls from other scammers

 

maybe

[LeMarchand]

Someone offered me a brand new iPhone today. I was completely honest and told them I HATE the things and their ethos/culture and hung up whilst they were floundering in surprise.

[seacider]

The last scam caller I had was very upset when I called him an oxygen thief. Told him he had brought shame onto his family and should pray for forgiveness. The language used in reply was "fruity" to say the least. He was more annoyed when he called me a Mother f*****, I pointed out as I was married and had more than one child, I must logically be one. He let off a tirade of expletives and hung up. i did chortle!

[MartinT]

I had a very odd one last night on my mobile: angry sounding chap saying that my number was used for a takeaway order and I needed to collect it. I told him I had placed no such order. He repeated it even more angrily with strange reference to my number but no name given, contents of order etc. I told him again I had not placed an order and to go away.

 

Is this some kind of new scam? To what end - trying to get me to pay?

[mikeprice]

I had a very odd one last night on my mobile: angry sounding chap saying that my number was used for a takeaway order and I needed to collect it. I told him I had placed no such order. He repeated it even more angrily with strange reference to my number but no name given, contents of order etc. I told him again I had not placed an order and to go away.

 

Is this some kind of new scam? To what end - trying to get me to pay?

 

Could be genuine - in as much as the angry chap was the takeaway owner who is being targeted by someone with a load of orders that no-one turns up to collect - hence he makes the food but doesn;t get paid

 

the use of your number could be unconnected to you - just random

 

it is the takeaway that is being targeted - I have heard of this being done in blackmail attempts or by competing businesses

[Garacesh]

Scam calls are out in force today. Still number spoofing.

[Davit2005]

MyHermes scams, not had these before. Normally Royal Mail scams.

 

[mikeprice]

DId have a phone call the other day

 

it was xxx from BT - so far so normal

he said he was ringing about internet problems in my area

asked if my internet was OK

 

I replied that I hadn't noticed any problem

 

"Oh - that's good to hear - thank you - have a nice day" was his reply

 

errr

I was expecting to be led down a path involving event logs and ending with TeamViewer or somesuch - but no - just a polite thank you and the conversation ended

 

 

I presume that either

a) he was looking for active phone lines that are answered by a real person to sell on a list

b) he now assumes I have BT Internet so can be put on that list

or

c) I didn;t sound like a potential victim so he just moved on - but in a polite way - which is nice to see - sortof

 

Still - I have been well down on my scam call quota the last few months - maybe this will increase it

[Protec]

I think C. Probably wanted someone to say "no it's been slow lately" or something then offer his "support".

[mikeprice]

Had a phone call just now - it was 'Jane from the NHS'

 

wanted to know about whether or not I had had the Covid jabs - and about symptoms

 

Wasn't too pleased when I said I was 'uncertain' she was really from the NHS - and hung up

 

Apparently they talk about the vaccine for a bit then try to sell life insurance

[mikeprice]

Good News!!!

 

 

Apparently I have WON £500,000 on the Euromillions Lottery!!!!

 

I know this because I had an automated phone call telling me about it this morning!!

 

 

Bit of a problem though - they told me I have won - but to claim it I have to ring

00108xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

i.e. quite a long number and said far too fast to be remembered - and not repeated

and no "Press 1 to repeat' or maybe 'press 8 to talk to one of our claim advisors'

 

 

OK - clearly fake

but what did they get from this??

no chance to capture any information

no chance to con me into anything

 

OK - they know someone answered the phone and listened to the whole message - but it was pretty short so it isn;t like it lasted several minutes indicating someone who may react another time???

but indicating it is a live line could be done far easier - just someone answering would be enough

 

 

can;t really see what they were after

[LeMarchand]

I'd guess that it's a premium line and/or as anyone who actually calls it must be gullible, they have a team of dedicated scammers to explain how they need your bank account details in order to transfer your winnings.

[LeMarchand]

Forgot one that I had whilst working on my father's house. "BT" had noticed a problem with the internet speed. I told them I was going to turn the PC on and asked them to wait. Went off, had a chat to the wife and came back and played the "Who's that?" card, followed by "Was I speaking to you just now? I can't remember. What were we speaking about?" and got him to hang up when I played the "Speed? I can't afford a car any more" ace.

[LeMarchand]

"Carphone Warehouse" (who you'd think would employ people who you could understand - I only realised where they were claiming they were from after Googling the number). They really picked the wrong person to try to entice with an iPhone. Seemed a bit stunned when I said, "How DARE you suggest that I would use an iPhone!" before hanging up.

[Rob_D]

"Carphone Warehouse" (who you'd think would employ people who you could understand - I only realised where they were claiming they were from after Googling the number). They really picked the wrong person to try to entice with an iPhone. Seemed a bit stunned when I said, "How DARE you suggest that I would use an iPhone!" before hanging up.

I had a Carphone Warehouse one last week. He hung up sharpish when I asked how he had my number.

[LeMarchand]

Got a call last night from a firm using one of those Government Department sounding names about loft insulation. May well have been genuinely going to do the job, but using such underhand tactics to get a salesperson through the door doesn't bode well, especially as the meeting had to be tomorrow when they were in the area and it sounded as if the area was being targetted as it's mainly bungalows and therefore mainly pensioners.

 

Called the older neighbours and warned them.

[6Foot2]

Got a call last night from a firm using one of those Government Department sounding names about loft insulation. May well have been genuinely going to do the job, but using such underhand tactics to get a salesperson through the door doesn't bode well, especially as the meeting had to be tomorrow when they were in the area and it sounded as if the area was being targetted as it's mainly bungalows and therefore mainly pensioners.

 

Called the older neighbours and warned them.

I get the same calls (I think from the same people) time after time, even after I tell them that their service will not interest me because I am moving.

 

During one of these cold calls, the caller hung up when I was part way through explaining why I would not avail myself of his services. How rude!

 

[korifugi]

I've started answering the phone with "National Fraud Helpline" - that seems to cut a few short.

[mikeprice]

Got a call last night from a firm using one of those Government Department sounding names about loft insulation. May well have been genuinely going to do the job, but using such underhand tactics to get a salesperson through the door doesn't bode well, especially as the meeting had to be tomorrow when they were in the area and it sounded as if the area was being targetted as it's mainly bungalows and therefore mainly pensioners.

 

Called the older neighbours and warned them.

 

I have had a few of those recently

 

some of them have really pushed the 'Health and Safety' angle and tried to imply that the 'old type' of insulation is dangerous

 

 

pretty under hand tactics - I presume they are after vulnerable people due to either age or ignorance

 

I presume if a 'surveyor' came out their tactics would be pretty hard-sell

 

I do wonder about going along just to waste their time

 

but I think my wife would be against the idea - I can be more of a bar steward than her

 

well - sometimes anyway

[6Foot2]

Link: COVID-19 vaccine text scams rife and targetting youngsters, trading standards warns [The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI)]

 

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) issued a warning to the public about text scams that target youngsters.

 

CTSI Lead Officer Katherine Hart informed CTSI that her sons Adam, 20, and his brother, 18, who both live in Scotland, where some public venues such as nightclubs require the presentation of a vaccine pass for entry, were at the receiving end of this scam.

 

The brothers received a message stating: "NHS: you are eligible to apply for a Covid Pass proving you have been vaccinated against COVID-19.", which was followed by a link to a bogus website designed to look like an official NHS platform.

 

The fake NHS website requested that he put in his details, and crucially his banking details to pay for the supposed fee of £4.99. Fortunately, Adam investigated the website further and found it had several dead links, which raised alarm bells, and he didn't go through with making the payment.

 

CTSI Lead Officer, Katherine Hart, said: "During the holiday season, millions of people are looking forward to getting out and enjoying themselves after what has been almost two years of challenges presented by the pandemic. Unfortunately, unscrupulous scammers are manipulating measures implemented to protect the public by cloaking their scams in NHS branding.

 

"The case of my sons receiving this text also illustrates that young people are being directly targeted by scammers, breaking the stereotype that it is primarily the elderly who are victims to scams. The pandemic has revealed the extent that fraudsters will go to manipulate modern technologies and the ongoing health crisis we face.

 

"The NHS does not charge for COVID passes. Anyone receiving these messages via text or email should not only ignore them but also report them to the authorities. By reporting scams, the public enables us to develop a clear picture of the size and scale of this issue, aiding our work combatting scams in the future."

 

For consumer advice, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133

 

To report scams, contact Action Fraud, or if in Scotland, contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060

 

The public is encouraged to join Friends Against Scams, an initiative aiming to protect and prevent people from becoming scam victims by empowering them to take a stand against scams.

[Protec]

Automated message left on answering machine.

 

"Halifax" saying that someone has taken £400 out of the account and phone the number to stop it from happening.

[mikeprice]

Automated message left on answering machine.

 

"Halifax" saying that someone has taken £400 out of the account and phone the number to stop it from happening.

 

OMG what did you do

 

I mean it is not like you could log into your account online and check or anything

 

 

I think the disgusting thing about these scams is when they are deliberately aimed at the most vulnerable

 

I just wish there was a way of doing what Hollywood think you can do (actually - on this site - what WE can do) and reverse hack then and crash their computer system

 

I thin GoldenEye was the worst for that

[Roberto]

OMG what did you do

 

I mean it is not like you could log into your account online and check or anything

 

 

I think the disgusting thing about these scams is when they are deliberately aimed at the most vulnerable

 

I just wish there was a way of doing what Hollywood think you can do (actually - on this site - what WE can do) and reverse hack then and crash their computer system

 

Why not just construct a Gui Interface using Visual Basic to track his IP? That should be easy to do. Then we can see where they're from, for example if the first number is 398 then they're in downtown...

[Protec]

They went to Halifax in person, and Halifax confirmed it was a scam and that it has been happening to other people too. The bank of course aren't interested in the number since it would just be changed anyway and said that contacting the police would be pointless too and I agree!