A scam phone calls and emails discussion.

[PeterC]

Well I had a "Royal Mail" text not one hour ago so clearly they haven't completely stopped (if it ever will: these texts were commonplace even pre-COVID).

I had an email from UPS this morning. It turned out to be legitimate.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Is there any law that would cover "Criminal intent by misrepresentation" in scam calls/emails that deliberately misrepresent the supposed company in order to commit fraud?

 

[swt_passenger]

A neighbour received an email that on his pre-view index said it was from "Costermer Services", the subject matter being shaving items. Of course, the word "Costermer" rang alarm bells and he said he has the BT email system that allows you to both call it spam and to block the sender.

Intentional mispelling of words people have set up blocks for. I’m seeing a large number of these using “Costumer”, obviously a real word.

Clicking the spam & block sender options on BT - they defeat that with another new from email address the next day.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Can anyone tell me if doing what I do by not speaking at all in response to a voice message scam or an actual person and in about 10 seconds, the call to me is terminated at their end. Do the scammers have a system that recognises deliberate non-co-operation by the person they have called.

I would love to betray my caution when a call supposedly from BT that says my connection will be "terminated at midnight" by responding by saying "Congratulations...this is the 100th call about termination by BT I have received. Please press button 1 on your computer to find the prize you have just won".

 

[pdeaves]

I would love to betray my caution when a call supposedly from BT that says my connection will be "terminated at midnight" by responding by saying "Congratulations...this is the 100th call about termination by BT I have received. Please press button 1 on your computer to find the prize you have just won".

This thread almost makes me wish for more junk calls.

 

[oldman]

A little off-topic but the other day I had a genuine letter (a bit like an email) from a bank telling me I was in default on the car insurance on my Mazda and bad things would happen if I didn't pay up. They didn't seem particularly surprised when I explained that I had no such policy or Mazda and assured me the bad things would not happen (confirmed by letter). Hopefully they won't but it doesn mean an insurance in my name has been cancelled for non-payement, which doesn't sound good.

Apparently this is ghost broking - you take out a policy, doctor it and sell it on, probably to a high-risk driver who can't get affordable insurance. In this case the scamster didn't know my dob, email address, phone number or even my full name, which doesn't say a lot for the insurance company's checking procedures.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Maybe the check was as basic as seeing whether a "John Oldman" or whomever, is known to be resident (and has a credit file) at a given address.

Might be an idea, if you've not already done so, to request a copy of your credit file from each of Experian, Equifax and TransUnion (N.B. it should be free to do this) to see if there is anything on them that doesn't look right, so that any necessary correction(s) can then be made.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

What do you do where you do not have a credit rating, allowing for the fact that you have never had a mortgage or bought anything on credit?

 

[najaB]

What do you do where you do not have a credit rating, allowing for the fact that you have never had a mortgage or bought anything on credit?

Pretty much every adult has a credit file. It may not have much on it, but it'll exist.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Pretty much every adult has a credit file. It may not have much on it, but it'll exist.

Experian told me, when I spoke to them in response to being approached some years ago, that they could not give me a credit rating as my answers betrayed no sign of ever attempting to obtain credit.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

What do you do where you do not have a credit rating, allowing for the fact that you have never had a mortgage or bought anything on credit?

The likes of Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are likely to have a rather basic file for you if you're on the voter's register, or if you have a bank account (with or without any overdraft) or a water, gas or electricity supply/account in your name, and as regards the latter, are paying the bills promptly, (or not as the case may be)!

If they don't have any of these, you're, comparatively speaking, living "off grid"!

 

[najaB]

Experian told me, when I spoke to them in response to being approached some years ago, that they could not give me a credit rating as my answers betrayed no sign of ever attempting to obtain credit.

There's a difference between having a credit file and them having enough data to be able to calculate a score. As @Mcr Warrior says, you would have to have committed to living "off grid" from very early in life for them to have no knowledge of your existence.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The likes of Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are likely to have a rather basic file for you if you're on the voter's register, or if you have a water, gas or electricity supply/account in your name, and paying the bills promptly, (or not as the case may be)!

If they don't have any of these, you're, comparatively speaking, living "off grid"!

With regard to the electoral register, my form has a tick in the column that signifies I am not on the "open register".

With regards to the utility companies stated above, for some reason, I am always shown as having a somewhat hefty "plus" balance and I always refuse offers from them to refund those extra monies back into my bank account.

I neither participate in internet banking, nor do I have a smartphone or a mobile phone.

Despite constant TV advertisements for opening a account with either Royal London or Sun Life in order to let the proceeds pay for my funeral expenses, which seem to be aimed at people who seem blind to the idea of knowing about such matters, many years ago, I paid for the "gold plan" funeral in advance in one lump sum with a national body that has a funeral division.

My good lady wife has now been in a nursing home with Vascular Dementia since March of this year and pays for her own care. She too has the same "gold plan" funeral plan, paid in full in advance, as the one I have and have described above.

 

[swt_passenger]

With regard to the electoral register, my form has a tick in the column that signifies I am not on the "open register".

Properly licensed credit reference agencies can access the closed register…

 

[Gloster]

With regard to the electoral register, I think that the credit rating companies are allowed to hold and use copies of the full register.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Still reckon that it would be useful for @oldman to obtain copies of all three of his basic credit report files (they're not all quite the same), to check that there isn't now any duff info on there as a result of the insurance related scam that was made reference to upthread.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Properly licensed credit reference agencies can access the closed register…

But from my only past single case with Experian stated in an earlier posting, what good would that do them, unless they criminally try to add non-existent matters to my revealed records, which would be defended in Crown Court by my legal team.

 

[swt_passenger]

But from my only past single case with Experian stated in an earlier posting, what good would that do them, unless they criminally try to add non-existent matters to my revealed records, which would be defended in Crown Court by my legal team.

Sorry but I was only commenting on what appeared to be an assumption that being taken off the open register helped avoid the agencies.

 

[A Challenge]

I know I'm not with EE (surely even they couldn't get that wrong), but you'd think they'd be able to spell my mobile operator name correctly in the text saying I've not paid my phone bill...

Incidentally, I can't imagine it's related but my mobile data stopped working for a while earlier today while I was in Kensington, and was gone for about 30 minutes, despite my phone telling me I had 4G connection (and me restarting my phone both with and without aeroplane mode on to reset the connection)

 

[najaB]

But from my only past single case with Experian stated in an earlier posting, what good would that do them, unless they criminally try to add non-existent matters to my revealed records, which would be defended in Crown Court by my legal team.

It wouldn't be Experian adding anything. They simply record the information passed to them from creditors. Which could be legitimate (e.g. you switch utility/Internet supplier and the new supplier runs a credit check on you) or a result of fraudulent activity by a third party.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It wouldn't be Experian adding anything. They simply record the information passed to them from creditors. Which could be legitimate (e.g. you switch utility/Internet supplier and the new supplier runs a credit check on you) or a result of fraudulent activity by a third party.

For creditors, as stated above, can that be the case when bill amounts are billed in advance, so those companies are in fact obtaining monies prior to the supply of the product they market. BT are an example of such a company who take monies quarterly in advance of product supply. Would they really, in cases like this, be correctly termed as debtors.

 

[najaB]

BT are an example of such a company who take monies quarterly in advance of product supply. Would they really, in cases like this, be correctly termed as debtors.

They take the line rental in advance, but bill for usage in arrears. So they are, in fact, creditors.

When I worked for BT sales we performed a credit check as part of setting up new service.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

They take the line rental in advance, but bill for usage in arrears. So they are, in fact, creditors.

When I worked for BT sales we performed a credit check as part of setting up new service.

Since we have been with BT since 1975 when we were married, I think they would have a good idea of what type of customer we are...

 

[najaB]

Since we have been with BT since 1975 when we were married, I think they would have a good idea of what type of customer we are...

True. But that doesn't change the fact that they are extending you a credit facility or that your ability or failure to pay would be recorded on your credit file.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

True. But that doesn't change the fact that they are extending you a credit facility or that your ability or failure to pay would be recorded on your credit file.

I understand exactly what you say and in businesses, such matters are indeed the norm, but this is not a "grace and favour" matter for the good of the populace extended by the companies but something the companies use as standard trading and financial matters. I mentioned BT before and you did clarify which parts of a bill are to be paid in advance and other parts paid in arrears, as although they could insist payment in advance for the entirety of projected bill costs, they appear not to go down that particular financial road. I would not at all be concerned if that was the case, as without revealing more than I should, neither my wife (79) nor I (76) are financially embarrassed for reasons I am not prepared to put into print.

 

[87 027]

I have just checked my credit file with Experian and I see that there is a footprint of checks from (a) HM Passport Office, because I countersigned a friend’s passport renewal application, and (b) numerous insurance companies when I was getting online quotes, even though I didn’t take them up. These are recorded as “soft” searches with a note that they don’t affect credit score, but are recorded nonetheless.

We live in an online world and having a digital “footprint” is a useful tool for organisations to confirm the identities of the individuals they are dealing with. There are 5 parts to identity checking: the identity exists, the evidence presented for it is genuine, the identity has existed over time (so lowers the risk of an organisation accepting a made-up identity or that of someone who has died), the claimed identity has not been flagged as high fraud risk (e.g. reported as compromised), and belongs to the person who is claiming it. So someone who is “off grid” as it were might struggle to demonstrate some of the above in a situation where proof of ID is needed.

 

[najaB]

So someone who is “off grid” as it were might struggle to demonstrate some of the above in a situation where proof of ID is needed.

And they would necessarily have committed to that "off grid" lifestyle very early - never having had a bank account, a bill in their name, a passport, insurance, tenancy agreement, etc.

 

[Cowley]

We’re probably drifting off topic a bit here…

Would anyone know why I seem to get bombarded with phone calls from advertisers for about four days in row some weeks and then get nothing at all for a couple of weeks?
Last month over four days I was receiving maybe six or seven calls a day but I’ve had nothing since…

 

[najaB]

Would anyone know why I seem to get bombarded with phone calls from advertisers for about four days in row some weeks and then get nothing at all for a couple of weeks?

I suspect they 'rotate' through different areas to avoid people becoming too used to them and not answering.

 

[Cowley]

I suspect they 'rotate' through different areas to avoid people becoming too used to them and not answering.

Sorry I forgot to say that this is on my mobile (I don’t have a landline).