A scam phone calls and emails discussion.

[Mcr Warrior]

@Xenophon PCDGS. You should also consider on-forwarding a copy of same to <[email protected]>.

 

[najaB]

@Xenophon PCDGS. You should also consider on-forwarding a copy of same to <[email protected]>.

If you do forward it, then please forward the original message as an attachment since simply forwarding it will remove all the important information which can be used to track the message back to it's source.

 

[Busaholic]

Had a text message yesterday purportedly sent by O2 UK.
The entire message was '555513'- Welcome to O2 Wifi, this is your certification code.'

My mobile phone is on Vodafone, has been since last century, no current plans to alter that. My ISP is TalkTalk, again with it and predecessors for a quarter of a century.What could this be about? I have no idea which mobile number was used to contact me, and I have deleted the message now. No further contact made.

 

[1D54]

Had a text message yesterday purportedly sent by O2 UK.
The entire message was '555513'- Welcome to O2 Wifi, this is your certification code.'

My mobile phone is on Vodafone, has been since last century, no current plans to alter that. My ISP is TalkTalk, again with it and predecessors for a quarter of a century.What could this be about? I have no idea which mobile number was used to contact me, and I have deleted the message now. No further contact made.

Is O2 wifi code a scam?


We'll never text, call or email to ask you for a one-time code, password or other security information for your O2 account. If you receive a text that looks like it's from us and requests any of these details, it's malicious and should be reported

 

[Busaholic]

Is O2 wifi code a scam?


We'll never text, call or email to ask you for a one-time code, password or other security information for your O2 account. If you receive a text that looks like it's from us and requests any of these details, it's malicious and should be reported

Thanks for that. Just after I posted I received a call on my landline which I didn't answer and no message was left. I 1471d and the number that came up was a Halifax landline. On googling, it turned out to be a notorious one for pretending to be from National Savings and Investments, even named the company name it's registered to! Normally, I only get the odd attempted scam. The weird thing is that last night, for the first time ever, I looked up Premium Bonds as I'm contemplating buying a few, but hadn't got beyond noting a telephone number to ring for further information.

 

[dgl]

Is O2 wifi code a scam?


We'll never text, call or email to ask you for a one-time code, password or other security information for your O2 account. If you receive a text that looks like it's from us and requests any of these details, it's malicious and should be reported

If you use an O2 WiFi hotspot (I believe they are the partner for some businesses) then you might need a code sent to your phone to use it, so O2 sending you a code can be legitimate.

 

[MotCO]

I received an email saying that they could teach me to read maps backwords. I think it was spam.

 

[infobleep]

I had a WhatsApp mesaage. That was obviously spam as they called me by my wrong name. I decided to look at the profile pic and they hid their face in it. By they I just mean. The photograph. It won't be them as such. They had included a photo of some lunch in the mesaage.

A Googls Lens search gave no answers. So after they messaged again, I asked to see a photo of their face.

They did this but again Google Lens didn't come up with anything useful save that the jacket she was wearing was for sale on various sites or at least they looked just like it.

I blocked the conversation after capturing some more zcreenshots and reported them.

I wonder if these people are starting to use AI to generate fake profile pictures rather than nicking others. Or perhaps even modifying others enough to be different.

 

[swt_passenger]

I received a purported email at mid-day supposedly from the "TV Licencing Authority" stating thay my bank had declined the latest direct debit payment which would mean that I would be unlicensed. I was then asked to click on a link to set up a new direct debit payment.

I just had one of these, same spiel as you had.

I wonder if they try and send you to sleep with daily virus protection scams and then throw in the odd TV licence scam to catch you out…

 

[DelW]

I think that this is probably genuine, but it's exactly the sort of thing that arouses my suspicions ...

I've just had an email from Three (of which I am a customer), telling me that they have updated their system and that I need to re-register my email and password to be able to access my account. But the thing is, neither the email, nor the link that it suggests I click on, come from three.co.uk - instead they refer to three-email.co.uk. A Google search on that doesn't come up with concerns, but it is the sort of address that a spoofer might use.

When I do re-register, rather than use the link, I will go in via three.co.uk and see whether that re-directs me.

 

[87 027]

I think that this is probably genuine, but it's exactly the sort of thing that arouses my suspicions ...

I've just had an email from Three (of which I am a customer), telling me that they have updated their system and that I need to re-register my email and password to be able to access my account. But the thing is, neither the email, nor the link that it suggests I click on, come from three.co.uk - instead they refer to three-email.co.uk. A Google search on that doesn't come up with concerns, but it is the sort of address that a spoofer might use.

When I do re-register, rather than use the link, I will go in via three.co.uk and see whether that re-directs me.

I am also a customer of Three, I got a similar communication a couple of weeks ago while abroad on holday and felt very disinclined to follow any of the links provided given that I was using Wifi** at the place I was staying. So I ignored it for a couple of weeks.

On arriving back home the official 3 app on my phone would no longer work including on mobile data - it does appear this is a genuine update of their systems behind the scenes. However I completely agree it is poor form to include links in emails. I salute your good sense in showing caution, it is wise to be sceptical and I think you and anyone else in a similar situation are being extremely wise in not taking these communications at face value.

** possibly belt and braces but on my return I changed all passwords for the online services I had accessed, including those which use multi-factor authentication

 

[EdinRH]

A former work colleague of mine said his parents had received two calls from "BT" telling them their account was in arrears and asking for personal details.

When their service went down a few weeks later they contacted BT and were told "We tried to contact you twice, but you were rude and uncooperative"

The calls were genuine!

It's probably a good idea to tell any suspicious caller that you will contact the company directly using details you already have (letter head, number on bank card etc)

 

[swt_passenger]

I am also a customer of Three, I got a similar communication a couple of weeks ago while abroad on holday and felt very disinclined to follow any of the links provided given that I was using Wifi** at the place I was staying. So I ignored it for a couple of weeks.

On arriving back home the official 3 app on my phone would no longer work including on mobile data - it does appear this is a genuine update of their systems behind the scenes. However I completely agree it is poor form to include links in emails. I salute your good sense in showing caution, it is wise to be sceptical and I think you and anyone else in a similar situation are being extremely wise in not taking these communications at face value.

** possibly belt and braces but on my return I changed all passwords for the online services I had accessed, including those which use multi-factor authentication

No email received here, and nothing had been trapped by spam filter, but I attempted to log in to 3 using the iPhone App and it required re-registration.

 

[McRhu]

When responding to businesses online, does that little padlock symbol in the URL still guarantee veracity?

 

[87 027]

When responding to businesses online, does that little padlock symbol in the URL still guarantee veracity?

Absolutely not. It indicates that the web connection is encrypted but says nothing about the trustworthiness of the site itself - it could be a copycat or typo-squatter site

 

[McRhu]

Absolutely not. It indicates that the web connection is encrypted but says nothing about the trustworthiness of the site itself - it could be a copycat or typo-squatter site

Ah. Thank you.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It must be time for my landline to take actual. not recorded voice, scam calls and this morning, I was telephoned by a Indian woman from a number in the Dumfries area who said she was calling from British Telecom. I had the number on view and whilst I exchanged pleasantries, I used my book of exchanges confirming the call was in the Dumfries exchange area. I asked if it was a new BT office there as the call was not prefixed by the usual 0800 number of all BT centres. She hung up,

 

[najaB]

Absolutely not. It indicates that the web connection is encrypted but says nothing about the trustworthiness of the site itself - it could be a copycat or typo-squatter site

To expand on that a little bit, a padlock symbol just means that the site is using HTTPS rather than HTTP (the S stands for secure). In the past it was relatively expensive to get a HTTPS certificate, so it wasn't something that spammers could do, but with projects like LetsEncrypt it is now possible to get a certificate for free.

You might question if this was a wise decision, given that it makes it easier for scammers to use HTTPS, but the reality is that unsecured connections to legitimate sites pose a far greater security risk than secure connections to a fake site. This is because anyone who has access to the network that you're using can see all the traffic across an unencrypted connection. So I set up a fake Wi-Fi hotspot and harvest people's information without anyone being the wiser. To set up a fake site using HTTPS I need to have a domain name and host the site somewhere, both of which will leave some form of paper trail. Plus, I have to trick people into visiting the site in the first place, which is more effort.

As an aside, Google plan to stop displaying the padlock in an upcoming version of Chrome precisely because HTTPS has become almost the default, and they'll warn you instead if the site isn't using HTTPS.

 

[McRhu]

To expand on that a little bit, a padlock symbol just means that the site is using HTTPS rather than HTTP (the S stands for secure). In the past it was relatively expensive to get a HTTPS certificate, so it wasn't something that spammers could do, but with projects like LetsEncrypt it is now possible to get a certificate for free.

You might question if this was a wise decision, given that it makes it easier for scammers to use HTTPS, but the reality is that unsecured connections to legitimate sites pose a far greater security risk than secure connections to a fake site. This is because anyone who has access to the network that you're using can see all the traffic across an unencrypted connection. So I set up a fake Wi-Fi hotspot and harvest people's information without anyone being the wiser. To set up a fake site using HTTPS I need to have a domain name and host the site somewhere, both of which will leave some form of paper trail. Plus, I have to trick people into visiting the site in the first place, which is more effort.

As an aside, Google plan to stop displaying the padlock in an upcoming version of Chrome precisely because HTTPS has become almost the default, and they'll warn you instead if the site isn't using HTTPS.

Thanks for that.

 

[DelW]

No email received here, and nothing had been trapped by spam filter, but I attempted to log in to 3 using the iPhone App and it required re-registration.

It does seem that the email I referred to above (post 1630) was genuine, and I have now re-registered (without using the link in the email).

I do think that Three should use their obvious three.co.uk address, though, not something that scammers might imitate.

 

[bearhugger]

I had a flurry of "Paypal" emails yesterday, one lot claiming I had sent ~$600 to someone, another 2 lots of 3 emails with different names but the same amount of £500 to pay. I forwarded them as attachment to phishing at paypal email address and went into my Paypal account the normal way to check any money hadn't gone out.

 

[Harvester]

Had a ”PayPal” email yesterday too, which seemed to be about an order that I had definitely never placed! Deleted it.

 

[Trainguy34]

Why do I get all the boring emails and no interesting scam ones?

 

[swt_passenger]

BBC article here, reminding us that scammers have piled in to the WILKO administration problems, attempting to sell non existent stock at bargain prices. I suppose it’s expected now every time a big company fails…

Wilko shoppers are being urged to avoid being scammed by a raft of fake websites that have been set up after the retailer fell into administration.
Several fake sites are supposedly offering hefty discounts on Wilko goods.
However, Wilko has stopped selling goods online, and is also no longer offering home delivery or click and collect services.

Wilko shoppers warned to avoid fake websites

Several websites are purporting to offer heavily discounted goods, the firm's administrators warn.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Busaholic]

Why do I get all the boring emails and no interesting scam ones?

Care to share your vital statistics?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I've also received that. I've ignored it because there is nothing I can do about Google changing their T & Cs

The above was posted in 2021, but very recently, I received a similar spam "Google" message about almost the same matter and "my lack of use". Has anyone had anything similar?

 

[1D54]

Just received a call from DHL on 07460338284 claiming they have a package for me and to press 2 if i want to continue with the call in Chinese. Hung up and blocked number!

 

[EdinRH]

Just received an email from a btinternet.com email address claiming to be from TSB asking for confirmation of full name, address, telephone number and email address claiming that this is a routine annual procedure. Neither I nor any of my family have any TSB accounts (although I have had some in the past). What I find strange is the scammer addressed the email with the correct initials and surname along with postcode for my father!

 

[najaB]

What I find strange is the scammer addressed the email with the correct initials and surname along with postcode for my father!

It's not that hard to figure out who lives at an address.

 

[contrex]

This morning I had a call from a bloke saying he was from O2, offering 30% discount on my mobile phone plan. As it's only £8 a month for SIM-only, I wasn't too bothered. Only recently migrated from Virgin Mobile. I seemed to recall hearing about the 30% thing being a scam, and decided to play along a bit. I asked him to tell me my name. 'I can't do that until we've processed your discount'. Likewise the first line of my address, and my postcode. I asked why they didn't just apply the discount. Slight pause. 'We need to do it this way'. I decided I'd had enough, and ended the call to 'Kevin', who had a strong Indian accent.

I Googled to see if I could find out the way it would have gone if I'd bitten. It seems to work like this - they call blocks of numbers until someone answers. If you bite, they go online to the O2 site and pretend to be you, having lost your password. They supply the account's phone number to get an account recovery code sent to the phone. The essential thing is to persuade you to read that code to them during its validity period. They may call it a 'discount code'. At that point you have lost control of your account. They can log in, change your password, and (their objective) order expensive phones which you will be billed for.

The text messages that O2 sends are full of warnings not to give the code to anyone, bout I think that these are sometimes ignored.