Re: Attempted FRAUD BY INTERNET - A WARNING

I get similar calls now & again, frequently with an Indian accent, but sometimes a well spoken English accent

It is usually very quickly apparent that this is some kind of con
I do not start any kind of conversation with them; or listen to any more of their spiel; or ask any questions
I simply say 'goodbye' and hang up, and that's the end of it

Resist the temptation to swear at them as that will infringe their Yooman Rites and you might find yourself in trouble

Usually the giveaway is that they start to mention or ask questions about money or security details in one form or another, and purport to be from HMRC, or my bank, or BT or an Internet provider, and so on.
The real giveaway is when they say they're from 'your bank', without describing it as Lloyds, NatWest, or whoever

But all these people will have my postal address, and any legitimate enquiries will be by post

I am less of an expert with similar scams by computer (see my post earlier this morning) but I'm catching up fast, and I hope that from now on I will be confident enough to delete anything suspicious

I might lose some legitimate messages, but, anyone with a genuine reason to contact me will do so again

I've just remembered; another giveaway is that they do not ask for you by name
So when you answer the phone do not say 'Hello, Mr So & So here', just limit it to 'Hello'
If they then go straight into their spiel, that's suspicious

Ask who they want to speak to. If they just say 'The Householder' or 'The Account Holder', that is very suspicious
It's not foolproof, but it will weed out a lot of dodgy calls

Re: Attempted FRAUD BY INTERNET - A WARNING

Thats so frightening Gilly.....I'm so pleased you realised it was a scam in time. Dont let the idiots spoil your enjoyment of the internet though....that would be such a shame,

Re: Attempted FRAUD BY INTERNET - A WARNING

You poor love Gilly. What a fright you have had. I think a lot on OFF are much more savvy when it comes to Scams by these vile people. I have lost count of the number of phone calls from scammers purporting to be from my bank or BT with the same information that you had.

Fortunately, we are both wise to them and used to just put the phone down without saying anything. In fact, for the past 12 months, neither of us ever pick up the landline phone if it rings, we just let the answerphone take it. All the family know to let the answerphone finish and just say ''Hi, it's..... and we will then pick up the phone to speak. Many a time though when it rings, there is just silence before they hang up as scammers hate answerphones.

I do hope your heartbeat is back to normal Gilly, I can't imagine how you must have felt seeing these pondlife having control of your bank account in front of you. A very lucky escape. Big hug from me.

Re: Attempted FRAUD BY INTERNET - A WARNING

OMG I hate scammers.

Re: Attempted FRAUD BY INTERNET - A WARNING

Yes so many scams out there so what do you do? ring back on a company number you know is genuine. Banks- building societies - companies etc won't mine.

can't say too much about an instance I had working with BT and how it was stopped. What I can say is a young lady rejected a males advances, so he plastered stickers on phone boxes say she was a prostitute and out for a good time, so ring this number, hers. I actually took a couple of calls on her behalf at her home and soon as i said they had come through to BT investigations they put the phone down.

Poor girls was in a terrible state but we got it stopped

Re: Attempted FRAUD BY INTERNET - A WARNING

Well spotted. Nobody who is genuine will cold call you. Doesn't matter WHO they say they are or how genuine they appear they are either a scam or somebody else that just wants your money. JUst hang up and leave you phone off for a while. If they claim to be a bank or a law enforcement agency DO NOT give them access to your computer - ever. Insist that they tell you where they are..physically.. Their office address etc and say you want to visit them in person. Of course they don't want this and they will give you some crap about how they can't do that. EVERYTHING is a scam until proven otherwise. A genuine contact will understand your position.

Re: Attempted FRAUD BY INTERNET - A WARNING

I applaud you for bringing it to our attention Gilly, it is very brave of you and could save someone from a similar fate.....

Only the other day I received a telephone call on my mobile telling me it was from the technical dept of AO. I bought a laptop from them last year.
They knew my name and the make of laptop, they wanted to run a performance check on it to make sure it was okay........

I thanked them and said it was running fine......And that is as far as anyone would get from a telephone call......I never mention my name or any other details and whatever you do, don't get into conversation with them, they can be very convincing.....Be polite but hang up....Hugs are on their way Jilly....

Re: Attempted FRAUD BY INTERNET - A WARNING

OGF

how many times have we had calls saying our microsoft computer has developed an error let them fix it remotely. Sue has an Apple computer so she knows it is a con and I am suspicious of all calls relating to computers as I fix my own.

The scam about trust money being left in foreign an account, and they will give you a percentage deposited in your bank account if you claim it on their behalf seems to have finished.

This day and ge you really have to be street wise to avoid scams of all types. The golden rule is never let anyone have your bank details by phone -internet or direct house calls

I use PayPal for all online transactions and never ever give credit/debit card information directly over the internet
If a company doesn't accept PayPal I go elsewhere

Re: Attempted FRAUD BY INTERNET - A WARNING

Never ever accept any phone call at first sight. I've had some which could have been valid, but have checked with the relevant company (eg bank or internet provider) who have confirmed that it's a scam.

Nowadays, if I can be bothered at all, I first say "no you're not" when they state they're from whatever they claim they're from. This confuses them. After which I usually ask if their parents are proud of them or whether they are fit parents.

Re: Attempted FRAUD BY INTERNET - A WARNING

One of our best investments has been the purchase of a phone set with BT Call Guardian. If the caller isn't in our contacts they are asked by the system to say who they are, our phone then rings and the message is read out and we have the choice to accept the call or reject it. Non legitimate callers, so far, always hang up without leaving their details so the phone doesn't ring at all.