Yup. It's a common tactic that scammers use - generate a sense of urgency to get people to act before they have time to think. You also see it online with countdown timers on 'special offers' on scam/fake products.
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A scam phone calls and emails discussion.
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If it's possible, it's better to use the 'Report spam message' (or similar) function. It gives the machine learning engines more data to train on to identify and tag these messages as scams.
StoneRoad
Member
My recent scam calls have included : the pre-recorded "bank security" : loft insulation "survey : sky "contract renewal" ...
The "white goods / boiler insurance" one seems to have died away.
Depending on how much time I have to waste I may reply & wind them up ( assuming I can actually understand the accent well enough to interact ).
recent email scams have been : parcel deliveries : anti-virus update / renewal : fill in a short survey " you have won an air-fryer or other ****e ...
Usually click on report as spam & block sender on the very few that get past the filter in my email client.
The "white goods / boiler insurance" one seems to have died away.
Depending on how much time I have to waste I may reply & wind them up ( assuming I can actually understand the accent well enough to interact ).
recent email scams have been : parcel deliveries : anti-virus update / renewal : fill in a short survey " you have won an air-fryer or other ****e ...
Usually click on report as spam & block sender on the very few that get past the filter in my email client.
Jon_jpwh
Member
I received a text on Saturday. "Hi Dad here's my new number so save it please. Could you text me on whatsapp when you see this xx"
Obvious spam and I already message my daughters on whatsapp.
I wondered what the purpose of the message was? I presume an attempt to start a conversation which would develop into a request for money, although there would be a problem as they wouldn't know either of my daughter's names.
Obvious spam and I already message my daughters on whatsapp.
I wondered what the purpose of the message was? I presume an attempt to start a conversation which would develop into a request for money, although there would be a problem as they wouldn't know either of my daughter's names.
I reckon that they're counting on people's natural reaction of "Is this [insert child's name]?" rather than "Tell me your name".
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 14,517
Exactly that. If the scam were to proceed, likely you'd be asked to send money to some third party, not directly to your daughter's own bank account. Urgency is the thing.
Yes i had that one. The number it arrived from was different to the number it said was the new one.
I did think of popping to a phone box and calling the numbers to see what happened…
A phone box...? Aren't they things which feature in the "Living memories/Anachronisms" thread?
Acey
Member
- Joined
- 16 Nov 2018
- Messages
- 323
Don't be silly,this is a phone box !
Attachments
High Dyke
Established Member
Had an email at work recently. Supposedly from a colleague, but their personal home account. The one about trying to buy an Amazon gift card for a relative, and could I help.
I initially responded by stating I haven't used Amazon for some time and not from my work email. Never heard anymore.
I initially responded by stating I haven't used Amazon for some time and not from my work email. Never heard anymore.
Reminds me of people biding on line for an X-Box, getting it cheap, and finding out they have just bought a box, not a games console.
Typically the actual listing was for an "X-Box box" or something similar.
d9009alycidon
Member
Email arrived yesterday...
Your TV Licence expires on November 12, 2024 11:00:58 AM.
To renew , choose whether you want to pay monthly or all in one go, get your payment details ready and then it's done for another year.Renewing on time means more of the licence fee goes towards BBC TV, radio and online servicesThanks,The TV LICENSINGTeam
As I pay my licence fee by direct debit I knew it was unlikely to be genuine. Analysis of the senders email revealed "[email protected]" confirming scam
Your TV Licence expires on November 12, 2024 11:00:58 AM.
To renew , choose whether you want to pay monthly or all in one go, get your payment details ready and then it's done for another year.Renewing on time means more of the licence fee goes towards BBC TV, radio and online servicesThanks,The TV LICENSINGTeam
As I pay my licence fee by direct debit I knew it was unlikely to be genuine. Analysis of the senders email revealed "[email protected]" confirming scam
Makes a change for the correct spelling of 'licence' and 'licensing'.
StoneRoad
Member
Had another phone scam today ...
claiming to be from Sky Assurance and then started talking about flat screen TV breakdown cover.
when I stopped laughing I told them to go away.
how in hell's name does a flat screen TV need AA breakdown cover ?
claiming to be from Sky Assurance and then started talking about flat screen TV breakdown cover.
when I stopped laughing I told them to go away.
how in hell's name does a flat screen TV need AA breakdown cover ?
The very specific expiry date and time is a big clue. Unless I missed something, TV licences always expire at the end of a calendar month.
But it does make sense for a scam - they're trying to generate urgency so that people act without thinking.
Or (bearing in mind the correct spelling) is this another way of the scammer filtering out those who have seen through the scam so they only deal with more susceptible 'customers'?
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 14,517
Effectively yes, but I would suggest that creating a false sense of urgency was perhaps the key thing.
londonbridge
Established Member
- Joined
- 30 Jun 2010
- Messages
- 1,660
Just found an email allegedly from Amazon saying my payment details need updating. Apart from the usual scam signs I only have prime video and not the full prime service.
Russel
Established Member
I've noticed a surge in text scams regarding missed packages, I suppose it makes sense, perfect time of year for it.
Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
These scammers and people smugglers seem totally immune from having their criminal activities really hit hard.
contrex
Member
I got one three days after Evri said they'd delivered my package but provided a photo of a stranger's front door. The text said it was from Evri and that 'your delivery' had been returned to the depot because of damaged outer packaging. I followed the link but the odd URL and the need to provide card details for a £1.50 'redelivery charge' rang alarm bells. This was in September this year, but I reckon that any time of year is a dead cert for lots of missed or failed Evri deliveries.
3rd rail land
Member
I respond to enquires sent on a sports clubs website. A recent enquiry was an obvious scan offering a free piano.
3141
Established Member
My wife and I had a frustrating experience recently. It started on a Friday with a series of WhatApp messages to my wife apparently from a friend of ours who lives in New York. There were accompanying photos which made the messages seem genuine. That was somewhat unusual because this friend usually communicates with us through emails to me. During the evening one message asked if my wife could provide a favour. My wife asked what it was. The messager said she needed to make an urgent payment of £1200 to someone she knew. We would get the money back the following Monday.
That sounded suspicious. I emailed our friend who confirmed it was a scam.
The scammer had provided a name and an account number and sort code. I checked and found that this was a Revolut account. I thought it would be a sensible to inform Revolut so that they could freeze the account and prevent the scammer from withdrawing any money that he/she might have persuaded other victims to transfer there.
If I was a Revolut customer myself it would presumably be straightforward to contact them to tell them what had happened. But Revolut don't want to hear from non-customers. I found an email address to which I reported what had occurred. A reply told me that individuals couldn't do that. I should report that I'd been scammed to my own bank, who would then pass the details to Revolut.
It seems ridiculous that I should have to contact my bank's scam reporting line and say "I haven't been scammed, but here are the details of someone who tried it on, so would you please contact Revolut and let them have this information." I actually have two current accounts. Which one to use? By this time it was late on Friday evening and I wanted to get to bed. This meant that several hours would pass during which the scammer could withdraw money from the account and it might become too late for Revolut to prevent that.
I subsequently reported the attempted scam elsewhere. It seems fair to say that Revolut's approach facilitates scamming.
That sounded suspicious. I emailed our friend who confirmed it was a scam.
The scammer had provided a name and an account number and sort code. I checked and found that this was a Revolut account. I thought it would be a sensible to inform Revolut so that they could freeze the account and prevent the scammer from withdrawing any money that he/she might have persuaded other victims to transfer there.
If I was a Revolut customer myself it would presumably be straightforward to contact them to tell them what had happened. But Revolut don't want to hear from non-customers. I found an email address to which I reported what had occurred. A reply told me that individuals couldn't do that. I should report that I'd been scammed to my own bank, who would then pass the details to Revolut.
It seems ridiculous that I should have to contact my bank's scam reporting line and say "I haven't been scammed, but here are the details of someone who tried it on, so would you please contact Revolut and let them have this information." I actually have two current accounts. Which one to use? By this time it was late on Friday evening and I wanted to get to bed. This meant that several hours would pass during which the scammer could withdraw money from the account and it might become too late for Revolut to prevent that.
I subsequently reported the attempted scam elsewhere. It seems fair to say that Revolut's approach facilitates scamming.
philthetube
Established Member
- Joined
- 5 Jan 2016
- Messages
- 3,992
I would be inclined to report this to the banking ombudsman and also try to get them bad publicity. Letters to papers saying that you would never consider banking with them would make them aware if they were published and you never know, some journalist may become interested
That sort of attitude from a bank is just not acceptable.
That sort of attitude from a bank is just not acceptable.
The issue is that there's a very low bar to entry and a relatively low chance of significant consequences, so as soon as one group gets shut down another one pops up to replace them.
