Latest telephone scam

[Horus]

This has to be the best variation yet of the old “we are Microsoft and we have detected a virus on your computer” scam “now please go to Control Panel and click on ……………. Etc etc.”
The latest wheeze is you get a telephone call and some turd with an Indian voice probably calling himself Trevor or Colin or some other fake English name to go with his Calcutta accent starts to tell you that your computer licence has run out. They also tell you your PC has been hijacked and you will be responsible for any sites that are accessed via your hijacked PC (the obvious hint being it is accessing porn sites or worse). :oo They then threaten to cancel your (none existent) licence immediately if you do not renew it with them and your PC will cease to work with immediate effect if you don’t.

Needless to say that this is all a load of spherical objects and you should tell them the same back ie, Bo***cks and put the phone down. As in the case of Banks and other organisations, neither they or Microsoft will ever telephone you regarding your PC or ask for banking details, so it is always a scam, just put the phone down and do not allow them any access to your PC.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I often wonder who these Scammers actually hire to make these calls. Do they pay their telephone people by the hour? Peacework? By the amount of cr*p they can take when people hang up on them?

Pretty nervy to be making these calls.

[Horus]

They are poorly paid peasants for want of a better word, exploited by their own countrymen into working for peanuts manning an automated dialling system and spreading their annoying scams all over the world. They are criminal activities run by criminals and most are known to the relevant authorities, but nothing gets done at a local level to stop them, a bit like tomb robbing in ancient Egypt.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Doesn't matter where the call originates from but it typically catches me at the exact minute I'm in the bath or doing something else I can't easily walk away from!!!

[Grandad]

Sometimes we have to listen before putting the phone down because it MAY be something important.

I had a call this morning and as I could not understand the young lady, I was about to cut her off. "Could you speak more clearly and more slowly please. I am having difficulty trying to understand you" I requested. It transpired that she was calling from the booking office of our local theatre to which I had booked 4 tickets for a show next month. The show had been cancelled and she wanted to know if she should refund my money to the original credit card.......

So sometimes be a little patient, you may have won a million rupiah in the Jakata Indonesia Lottery
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Before you bother to work it out, that is about £49. When I was there in '94, it would be around £280 so their economy has taken a slide, so to speak.

[Horus]

Ah but how do you know it was not a scam to get your card details confirmed for a cloned card?
Nah only kidding, they were probably just emptying your bank account

[Grandad]

I didn't have to disclose anything, just to agree to repay to the credit card that was debited.
It does make you think though and it is so easy to be hoodwinked.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I'm so cautious now online and on the phone it is ridiculous and I don't particularly trust hard copy letters in the mail either anymore! I almost have to go to the office, in person, to give a yes or a no (and even then I'm never too sure who I should be telling what to).

[Horus]

Very true, you must always be ultra cautious nowadays, they can often ask the most innocuous questions such as “can you just confirm the last 4 digits on your card?” and it can seem very feasible until you realise that the other digits could have been obtained from a till receipt or by some other innocent means. There has been a recent reported incident where an old lady was robbed of £100,000 by a clever scam, she was contacted by the (supposedly) police who informed her that her account had been hacked and she should move her money into a ‘secure’ account that they would give her, needles to say it was a false account that gave them access to her money, stupid I know but they still managed to convince her. The problem with any scam is that it will sound very convincing and they are often very sophisticated and come at you from an angle that you do not suspect such a s a phone call from the credit card company to say there is a problem with your card in some way, the idea being to put you off guard by means or confusing you into giving them information or details.

I have mentioned this before, but it’s worth saying again. One scam is to tell you they are from some organisation or another, but don’t give him the details on the phone, but put your phone down and ring this number and ask for Detective Jones head of credit card fraud or similar and he/ she will give you details of what to do. What most people do not realise is that there is a disconnection delay on most phones and if the other party does not put down their phone you are still connected to them. You then ring another number, but get straight back to the same person and you ask “can you put me through to Detective Jones please?” “Just a moment I will transfer you to his desk” comes the reply and you are now conned into believing you are speaking to the police fraud squad. Another smooth operator will soon have you convinced that your card is being abused and it is almost certain you will start going along with what they request and that’s it! You have been conned.

[Jayway]

I feel quite left out . . . really think I must get a credit card ! !- - -

[Horus]

Yes it does help Jay

[LovelyLadyLux]

I stalled on getting a credit card until I had to for my work as travel was part of the job and I needed to rent cars. That became the maker or breaker as there was no way I could rent a car without a credit card. Once I had one I did have to admit they were an evil necessity that I did learn to live with.

[Grandad]

I use my credit card to my advantage. It costs me £15/month but that gives us comrehensive worldwide annual travel insurance, plus other benefits. We use it for most things and spend about £1000 a month on it and settle in full every month without fail. We get high street store cash back vouchers to the value of around £160/annum. We also get coffee vouchers to use in the same high street store to the value of around £150/an. On top of that we get various cash vouchers through the year and on birthdays.
I estimate that after setting aside the monthly fee, our returns equate to just under 2% so, as far as I am concerned we win on all accounts.