A scam phone calls and emails discussion.

[Westcountryman]

My experience is the same and I'd highly recommend them since it's worth answering the phone rather than just ignore it and if it's important they'd leave a message. There's been a few occasions where I've disabled the Call Guardian while a relative was in hospital to make sure they could get through and it was a good reminder of how many calls are blocked by the system.

Note that the calls I was referring to were on my mobile, not my landline, so Call Guardian is not an option.

 

[JohnMcL7]

Note that the calls I was referring to were on my mobile, not my landline, so Call Guardian is not an option.

I wasn't recommending the system for your use just agreeing with the other user that it's a useful service for landlines.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Had a call on the stroke of 0900 this Saturday morning purportedly from "the BT technical engineering department". I said (in the full knowledge of it being a scam) that I had a BT engineer on the premises performing annual tasks as part of our BT Halo 2 plus package for which we had a 0900-1000 slot booked and asked if the caller would like to speak to the BT engineer himself. The caller hung up.

Uggh that's the worst, receiving one on the weekend. 01709276983 rang me yesterday - subsequently blocked as I know nobody in Rotherham anymore since family in the area died years ago - but at least all of my Stupid calls (as I call them) recently have been during the week. Think the worst was one around 18:00, so just on the cusp of offices closing. The last one on a weekend was way before COVID, possibly several years ago.

Edit: 01709276983 just called again - they're like buses; don't receive one then two at once! - but I swear I'd blocked the number. So why did it show up and not just go to voicemail I wonder?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

01709 276983 seems to be used by some boiler room operation supposedly selling, erm, boilers.

 

[pdeaves]

01709 276983 seems to be some boiler room operation selling, erm, boilers.

If a scammer is at work faking numbers at random, they could easily fake a legitimate number. Or the other person may have made an enquiry about boilers and it wasn't a scam call!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If a scammer is at work faking numbers at random, they could easily fake a legitimate number. Or the other person may have made an enquiry about boilers and it wasn't a scam call!

01709 276983 does seems to be most commonly associated with some telemarketing firm attempting to sell boilers.

(Dozens using "WhoCalledMe?" and similar sites have reported this).

No idea if the number used or the firm itself is genuine.

 

[Westcountryman]

We had 'you washing machine warranty is expiring' call yesterday. Well, they are nearly correct, our washing machine is on the point of expiring, but there is no warranty. The only thing I actually have a warranty on is our car, and there is no way I would do without that nowadays.

 

[Sucregirl]

Another good one is "never click a link on an email". Note who sent it to you, then manually log onto that website.

Very correct.. This information needs to go out for people to be aware. Random links are scam too..

 

[MotCO]

I've had a phone call from 01757574540 which I assume was a scam and did not answer, but it does not appear on the usual list of dodgy numbers. Does anyone recognise it?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I've had a phone call from 01757574540 which I assume was a scam and did not answer, but it does not appear on the usual list of dodgy numbers. Does anyone recognise it?

01757 is the Selby dialling code, if that helps.

 

[Typhoon]

I've had a phone call from 01757574540 which I assume was a scam and did not answer, but it does not appear on the usual list of dodgy numbers. Does anyone recognise it?

It looks like a number that called me (I recognised the last six digits straight away). If it is the number that did call me, there was a man repeating 'three' several times (with gaps in-between) then hung up (probably because he got a grumpy 'hello' at the start and nothing else so it was probably MI5 giving me a secret code or someone who hasn't quite mastered the telephone yet. I logged it with the ICO.

We had 'you washing machine warranty is expiring' call yesterday. Well, they are nearly correct, our washing machine is on the point of expiring, but there is no warranty.

I haven't had one of those for ages, I used to moan about how the washing machine had gone wrong and what were they going to do about it (the machine still being under warranty. ha, ha.)

They will now get something more aggressive, along the lines of. "The wife reported it had broken down three weeks ago, I rang up at the start of the week, in fact you sound just like the person who took my call, you said the replacement would be here on Wednesday (or whenever). It hasn't happened so what are you going to do about it. I'm holding you personally responsible. What is your name? Remember I've got a new for old policy." then rant on until they get off the line. Makes me feel better if nothing else.

Call centre staff who are genuinely trying to sell you stuff are one thing, scammers are something different.

 

[najaB]

Call centre staff who are genuinely trying to sell you stuff are one thing, scammers are something different.

The scammers don't necessarily know that they are scammers. Sometimes the people making the outbound call are just working in a call centre and as far as they know they're selling a genuinely useful product. The scam is that what they are selling isn't actually any use or is seriously overpriced. I can definitely see the washing machine warranty people falling into that category.

The Microsoft technical support type though definitely know that they're running a scam.

 

[Typhoon]

The scammers don't necessarily know that they are scammers. Sometimes the people making the outbound call are just working in a call centre and as far as they know they're selling a genuinely useful product. The scam is that what they are selling isn't actually any use or is seriously overpriced. I can definitely see the washing machine warranty people falling into that category.

The Microsoft technical support type though definitely know that they're running a scam.

Surely after a couple of days of 'I haven't got a washing machine warranty/ insurance' they might just twig. If they were selling the insurance (at whatever price) I would have sympathy, I personally would just say 'no, thank you', but what they are saying is untrue and I would have thought that would become glaringly obvious if not within hours, certainly within days. Sorry!

And would not get round the locality?

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I'm still awaiting my call from Tom Champagne to inform me I've won the Euromillions

 

[Romsey]

01709 276983 does seems to be most commonly associated with some telemarketing firm attempting to sell boilers.

(Dozens using "WhoCalledMe?" and similar sites have reported this).

No idea if the number used or the firm itself is genuine.

" Yes I do have a boiler which needs repair. It needs a new throat plate, coded copper welding on cracks in the inner firebox and new monel metal stays. Say about £200k. Then about £100k for new tubes and superheater flues. Does your company do such repairs?"
I've tried that a few times now and have got a mumbled "sorry - wrong sort of boiler..." and the call ended by them.

 

[Westcountryman]

It has been a while since anyone posted in this section. I have just had a possible (probable) scam call which doesn't seem to have been reported here. My wife received one of those Amazon automated calls requesting that you press 1 to sort an issue, which of course she did not do. A couple of hours later a real person called, Indian accent, which starts raising concerns. So this time I'm told that someone has been trying to order a smartphone on our Amazon account. She gave the name of this person, who is no-one I know. She asked if I had received any emails on the subject, and when I said there were none on my computer I got the impression that she wanted me to check on a smartphone or tablet (may not be relevant). She then started to try to ask some questions, which with her accent and a poor line I couldn't understand, so I just said that I was going to hang up as I was concerned it was a scam, and I would check directly by another means. So I've checked our Amazon account and credit card accounts and nothing untoward is showing. Anyone else had something like this?

So now I'll just wait to see if anything emerges and deal with it in due course.

 

[najaB]

A couple of hours later a real person called...

Interesting. They don't normally do follow-up. I wonder if this is the start of higher quality scams?

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Scams are certainly becoming more high-tech and criminals are getting smarter. Two days ago, I had an email proporting to be from the Royal Mail who allegedly were trying to deliver a package. The site looked genuine and I was indeed, expecting some large textbooks. As I started to enter details, alarm bells started ringing when I was being asked for my home address and email username/password.

Naturally, I stopped at that moment. ..

 

[Westcountryman]

I'm not sure they are getting smarter. I think that the potential victims are much smarter, so the easy scams are becoming less successful.

 

[najaB]

I'm not sure they are getting smarter. I think that the potential victims are much smarter, so the easy scams are becoming less successful.

Indeed. They've already got a good harvest from the low-hanging fruit.

 

[JohnMcL7]

It has been a while since anyone posted in this section. I have just had a possible (probable) scam call which doesn't seem to have been reported here. My wife received one of those Amazon automated calls requesting that you press 1 to sort an issue, which of course she did not do. A couple of hours later a real person called, Indian accent, which starts raising concerns. So this time I'm told that someone has been trying to order a smartphone on our Amazon account. She gave the name of this person, who is no-one I know. She asked if I had received any emails on the subject, and when I said there were none on my computer I got the impression that she wanted me to check on a smartphone or tablet (may not be relevant). She then started to try to ask some questions, which with her accent and a poor line I couldn't understand, so I just said that I was going to hang up as I was concerned it was a scam, and I would check directly by another means. So I've checked our Amazon account and credit card accounts and nothing untoward is showing. Anyone else had something like this?

So now I'll just wait to see if anything emerges and deal with it in due course.

This one started around the same time as the Prime refund scam I think so may be related and the times I've seen this scam used it's also been a smartphone that's supposedly been ordered on the account. The scammer will then 'assist' the victim in obtaining a refund either getting the victim's details to log into their Amazon account (the scammer triggers the forgotten password system to generate the one time code then pretends they've done it as Amazon and asks for the user to read back the code) or they want to remote share the victim's PC, get them to log into their bank and steal the victim's money.

The automated call may well have confirmed the number on their system so they knew it was worth giving it another go.

 

[Westcountryman]

This is interesting. I posted a while ago about getting calls which asked you to press a button, and getting charged huge sums. A reply to this said that this had been debunked back in about 2003.

After my 'scam' call today I've been googling a bit and I found this on Money Saving Expert,.

'The most common scam leaves you with a missed call – in most cases the phone won't have rung long enough for you to answer – and when you call back you're charged a fortune. Even if you don't actually call back your bill could sometimes still show that you've made a call lasting anything up to 12 hours – also resulting in a massive charge'.

So is it true that this can't happen, and MSE is passing on false info, or have things changed in the last 17 years?

 

[Lucan]

This one started around the same time as the Prime refund scam I think so may be related and the times I've seen this scam used it's also been a smartphone that's supposedly been ordered on the account. The scammer will then 'assist' the victim in obtaining a refund either getting the victim's details to log into their Amazon account ....

The earlier poster described what sounds like a start of the common refund scam. There are various front ends to it. One techique they use is get you to open your bank account on line, and while they are in your computer they can edit the screen (the HTMLcode) to make it appear you have been refunded, and by too much. Eg the refund should have been £250.00 but they "accidentally" make it £2500. They then persuade you to repay them the excess £2250, "secretly", by begging you that they will otherwise lose their job for their mistake. You then repay them by sending cash or gift cards to a money mule's drop-box address. That way they cannot be traced.

 

[eastwestdivide]

This is interesting. I posted a while ago about getting calls which asked you to press a button, and getting charged huge sums. A reply to this said that this had been debunked back in about 2003.

After my 'scam' call today I've been googling a bit and I found this on Money Saving Expert,.

'The most common scam leaves you with a missed call – in most cases the phone won't have rung long enough for you to answer – and when you call back you're charged a fortune. Even if you don't actually call back your bill could sometimes still show that you've made a call lasting anything up to 12 hours – also resulting in a massive charge'.

So is it true that this can't happen, and MSE is passing on false info, or have things changed in the last 17 years?

Two different situations described here - pressing a button while still on the first call, versus calling back an unknown number.
The first one was debunked, the second one is described on MSE at:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/stop-scams/

starting with the following information:

Be wary of numbers starting 084​

Since numbers starting with 084, 087 or 09 became premium (this just means calls to these numbers are charged at a higher rate) most reputable companies have stopped using them. In their place scammers have started using these numbers to trick people out of money.

The most common scam leaves you with a missed call – in most cases...

So it's specifically about calling back to a premium rate phone line, and not about pressing buttons while on an incoming call.

In other words, it pays to know what premium rate numbers look like, just in case you're curious enough about a missed call.

 

[Westcountryman]

Thanks. Didn't spot that!

 

[steamybrian]

I have been advised that any numbers starting 0209 ...... is a scam and that such dialling code in London does not exist. They are sometimes used in films or tv programmes.
Can anyone confirm .?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I have been advised that any numbers starting 0209 ...... is a scam and that such dialling code in London does not exist. They are sometimes used in films or tv programmes.
Can anyone confirm .?

Seems to be correct.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Seems to be correct.

It is correct. The only valid codes for London are:

020 3xxx xxxx

020 7xxx xxxx

020 8xxx xxxx

 

[GusB]

I have been advised that any numbers starting 0209 ...... is a scam and that such dialling code in London does not exist. They are sometimes used in films or tv programmes.
Can anyone confirm .?

OfCom have a list of number ranges for use in TV and film:

Telephone numbers for use in TV and radio drama programmes

Ofcom continues to receive requests for Geographic Numbers to be used for drama purposes. In light of this, Ofcom has set out below a range of Geographic Telephone Numbers recommended for drama purposes (1000 numbers within each Geographic Area Code).

www.ofcom.org.uk

For London, this range is:

London

020

7946 0000 to 7946 0999

 

[backontrack]

"Nottingham Mortuary! You stab 'em, we slab' em!" is my favourite response for this kind of thing.

Or also "Hello, you're speaking to Microsoft Head Office. Hold the line, please."