Warning - Scam phone call

[Carole]

Had a scam call this morning.

It was a recorded message saying it was my internet provider and that my internet was being shut down for 24 hours due to fraudulent activity on my account.  Press 1 for more information.  I duly thought "Yeah Right" and hung up.

Rang my own ISP up (had difficulty getting past the robots to speak to an actual person!!) and they confirmed it was a scam, took note of the phone number and said if it happens again to report it to the police.  They asked if I answered any questions, but I said I did not press the number.  They said they are fishing for vulnerable people who will then be telephoned for other scams.

Be warned the phone number was:

01968 110155

(I rang 1471 after the call to get the number which has been reported to my ISP)

Carole

[ApophisAstros]

Its a scottish code so they not only want to leave the uk , they want to hack us aswell ...LOL
roger

[Carole]

Yes near Edinburgh.

Must warn hubby.

Carole

[MarkS]

I enjoy winding these people up.

I received one of these scam calls recently: "This is your bank - we have been instructed to make a foreign transfer of £400 - press 1 if you think a mistake has been made"

So I pressed 1 for a bit of fun and it went through to an Indian call centre.  We had an interesting discussion for a couple of minutes about who called who.  I insisted they must already have my details because they called me in the first place.  They insisted that it was me who had called them and so they needed my details to continue!  Of course they didn't even know the name of my bank (I wouldn't tell them of course - I didn't even tell them my name).   The hapless Indian guy ended up terminating the call but at least I had a couple of amusing minutes. 

Another variation is the big Amazon order I've apparently just made.  The same result - an Indian call centre.

Another good one was "TalkTalk".  I told them I wasn't with TalkTalk but they said it didn't matter - they would still help me remove the virus from my machine.  I was on the phone for at least 15 minutes (without needing to divulge any personal information) and got all the way to the point where they wanted me to download a piece of software which wasn't at a TalkTalk web address.  Obviously there was no way I would install any software whatever the web address but I said let me Google this piece of software first.  The top result was a description of a scam to get bank details.  I patiently explained to the call operator why I wouldn't install this software because it wasn't a piece of TalkTalk software and Google indicates it appears to be a scam.  The Indian guy went ape sh*t, furiously denying it was a scam.  I think he saw his commission disappearing!  He hung up on me.

In a similar vein, if you have 10 minutes to spare watch this hilarious talk from James Veitch who replied to one of those spam emails:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4Uc-cztsJo

If you enjoy his kind of humour, look for the other talks he has done.

Mark

[Carole]

Haven't watched Mark's link yet, but I agree if you get a person it is fun to wind them up.

However I was concerned if I pressed option 1 that I would get charged for an expensive phone call.

by the way just had a second call, at 1.10 same day from 01873 956802 saying they hadn't had a response from me.  I hung up again.

Now I am going to report this to the police as advised by Virgin Media.

Carole

[MarkS]

by the way just had a second call, at 1.10 same day from 01873 956802 saying they hadn't had a response from me.  I hung up again.

They use software to spoof the phone number.  So the phone number you obtain from 1471 is completely meaningless.

Mark

[Carole]

They use software to spoof the phone number.  So the phone number you obtain from 1471 is completely meaningless.

Hmm, that's a pain.

Just spoken to the police they were very helpful.  They took all the details and were happy I had not given any info.  They offered to make an appointment for the police to come round, but I said I didn't really need to waste their time as I was pretty clued up.   Just need to wise-up Adrian who is not at all clued up to stuff as he doesn't use a mobile phone, or the computer, so only picks up info from the TV.

Carole   

[Carole]

Just watched the video link Mark, I have seen it before and it's hilarious.

Carole

[Hugh]

We have a call blocker on the landline now which has made a great difference ~ no spoof calls at all.

It does take away a little bit of enjoyment though, as when they used to call about my being involved in an accident, I usually say that I am pleased that they have called and that despite it being my fault that I hit the coach, I wasn't going fast enough to have killed those 6 people.  I normally hear just a click as the phone goes dead!

Hugh

[Carole]

I am subscribed to Telephone Preference Service and very rarely get nuisance calls.  These are probably random numbers and the first I have had in a long time.

Carole