SCAM ALERTS

[OLDMAN]

Well having had 4 scam texts / 1 e-mail in as many days I thought I would start a new thread where these can be posted as warnings for others, with the relevant numbers etc

If anyone wants to add older (and newer ones obviously) please do so

Mince –
1. Text from +44 7786 009796 (Friday) – attempted payment from HSBC on new device (I’m not with HSBC and don’t have a ‘new device’)
2. Text from +44 7814 732201 (Saturday) – track an unknown delivery (don’t have any to come!)
3. Text from +44 7764 881596 – (Saturday) - track a DHL delivery (again don’t have anything to come!)
4. E-mail, now this is a doozy as it came to work, and used a group e-mail address but for the sister side of the company, it’s a ‘you’ve been watching porn’ scam and says if you don’t pay your system will be infiltrated with malware etc - I reported it upstairs, turned out others in the same group, had it as well!
5. Text from +44 7519 379203 – (yesterday) - I need to pay £1:09 to get my Royal Mail parcel (and yet again don’t have anything to come!)


And they all have dodgy web links which I won’t post on here!

[C.A.Versham]

Thanks for this. I've had all these apart from the porn one.
No doubt their ever inventive minds will come up with more in months to come.

[KeithW]

The porn one often says they have pictures of you engaging in turpitudinous activities and will circulate them to your contacts. But they don't show you an example picture or the address of any of your contacts, so it's not terribly convincing.

I explained that to a mate who seemed quite worried about such a message and he was palpably relieved. Again

[Voiceoftreason?]

Thanks for this. I've had all these apart from the porn one.
No doubt their ever inventive minds will come up with more in months to come.

Ditto. Although have had porn one a couple of years ago. These have racked up in the last week or so. We get phone calls two or three times Es a day - clearly from India - my response is to offer them dual reproductive/career advice and end the call. PITA the lot of them.

Also receiving probably upwards of 30 spam emails a day over the past couple of weeks as well. All junk goes to a separate fo,dear and gets deleted every day. Also a PITA.

[piwacket]

Thanks OM.
We may well have had all of these, but got so P’d off with the amount of calls on the land line, it’s now on Answerphone permanently... if friends need to speak to us, they can - and do - start to leave a message, then we can interrupt and speak to them. And all this is with a call blocker on the phone! A welcome silence for a few months over various lockdowns, when we did take the chance and release the Answerphone for a while... but things have rapidly changed back in the last 2 or 3 weeks

On the mobile it’s not so bad - if I don’t recognise the No,. I don’t answer it ...and there’s been some very odd ones - South Africa, California, Saudi Arabia and China. I sometime look up the No. - the SA one was from a Safari Park holiday resort And on the rare occasion I have answered it, 9/10 it’s “youve been in an accident....”!

[OLDMAN]

Be careful with ignoring blocked numbers

If I get a call from the surgery at Woodley it’s on a known number, same one I use to make appointments etc
But if Green Rd ring it’s a blocked number – had this yesterday (and good job I answered) as they rang me for my second jab, I asked about the OH and they booked her as well, but did mention they tried ring her
Got home and she said yes a blocked number came up but she ignored it! (second jabs this Friday......................yeah)

I get the same with my INR checks / Warfarin – I have a contact number for the anti-coagulant clinic, but the nurses ring me on a blocked number...............

[piwacket]

r
Got home and she said yes a blocked number came up but she ignored it! (second jabs this Friday......................yeah)

I get the same with my INR checks / Warfarin – I have a contact number for the anti-coagulant clinic, but the nurses ring me on a blocked number...............

I haven’t got any blocked numbers on my mobile - but OH has, and had the same as your OH a couple of weeks ago.

[OLDMAN]

r
Got home and she said yes a blocked number came up but she ignored it! (second jabs this Friday......................yeah)

I get the same with my INR checks / Warfarin – I have a contact number for the anti-coagulant clinic, but the nurses ring me on a blocked number...............

I haven’t got any blocked numbers on my mobile - but OH has, and had the same as your OH a couple of weeks ago.

Its numbers blocked (or not available) by the 'sender' so you cant see them when they ring you

If you block any on your phone they don't ring at all

[Pooneil]

r
Got home and she said yes a blocked number came up but she ignored it! (second jabs this Friday......................yeah)

I get the same with my INR checks / Warfarin – I have a contact number for the anti-coagulant clinic, but the nurses ring me on a blocked number...............

I haven’t got any blocked numbers on my mobile - but OH has, and had the same as your OH a couple of weeks ago.

Its numbers blocked (or not available) by the 'sender' so you cant see them when they ring you

If you block any on your phone they don't ring at all

Yes, I think it's a switchboard thing - if somebody is ringing from an "isolated" phone, then caller ID will show the actual number. But if the phone is connected to a larger network or switchboard, quite often the outgoing calls will either show the switchboard number (rather than the individual phone DDI), or no number at all. We had one customer who rang us up and requested a call back, but every time we called back there was no answer. He rang up about 4 hours later and tried to get @rsey about not getting a call back, and when we pointed out that we'd rang every half hour, he explained that as he hadn't recognised the number, he hadn't answered it. He tried to make this our fault, until we pointed out that since he'd asked to be called back by one of our specialists, they would be calling back from their own DDI number anyway, not from the general helpline number. (Never mind the fact that we said we'd ring him back at 2pm, and our first call was dead on 2pm...)

[Avis]

I was at a clinic for a medical appointment, but hadn't realised that I had gone to the wrong waiting room. The medical staff were ringing me on my mobile to ask where I was, but I didn't answer because it came up as "private number". Eventually it was sorted out, but I won't ignore a private or withheld or unknown number again!

[lizwing]

I don’t seem to get the problem on my mobile only the land line and that’s been awful for the last couple of weeks.

[chris_j_wood]

I had a flurry of spam calls on my mobile a couple of weeks ago. All recorded voice messages from different numbers and with different voices but the gist of the message was the same. "This is from HM Revenue & Customs to notify you that we are about to take you to court for non-payment of your taxes. To pay your tax arrears and prevent this prosecution, please press 9."

Needless to say I didn't press 9. And I did report them to HMRC's online fraud reporting service. But the fact they all came from different numbers does mean that blocking a number isn't much use.

[Voiceoftreason?]

Can I just reiterate about these. DHL/Hermes text scams. Do not click the link. The younger Voices’ partner innocently clicked on the link, and it infected their phone with two lots of malware, that took several hours to remove. They hadn’t heard about it and as they are expecting several deliveries of various types, got caught out.

The dam people that do these things are the scum of the earth.

[OLDMAN]

When I order anything they usually send tracking details etc with the confirmation so only use that
A couple of times I’ve had extraneous texts I’ve checked the original tracking and found its different so know the texts are scammers again!

OH only orders via the landline and doesn’t use e-mail etc so doesn’t get the same problems – any texts to her like his are totally ignored as she doesn’t give her mobile number with the orders

[Voiceoftreason?]

You do have to keep your wits about you at all times OM. It’s easy to get caught out, especially if you’re of the personality that thinks the best of people and not a total hard nosed sonic like moi

[Hooped]

I just received the Royal Mail one. I forwarded it to 7726 and got a response asking me to provide the number it had come from. The advice on these texts (LOTS of publicity on it in the last 24 hours) is ALWAYS forward them to 7726 (which is the numerical code for SPAM).

[lizwing]

First call was 10am this morning, it’s been quiet for a few days and I thought they’d stopped but sadly not.

[Voiceoftreason?]

Yep, another on from the sub continent this morning - a woman this time. Given anatomical directions and told not to phone again. Next one that calls I’ll be telling them I know who they are and the Police have been called. They mess with me, I mess with them.

[Fed-up]

If I get a real person, I thank them for calling the Thames Valley Police Terrorism Hotline and "Please hold the line whilst your call is traced".

They don't hang on the line for long for some strange reason.

[Voiceoftreason?]

Ooo. I LIKE it. Very inventive.

[piwacket]

If I get a real person, I thank them for calling the Thames Valley Police Terrorism Hotline and "Please hold the line whilst your call is traced".

They don't hang on the line for long for some strange reason.

Ooh I like that!

If I get a real person - rarer these days - I immediately ask them why they think I’d be interested in what they’re offering - Goodbye!

I have been known in the past to immediately put on a strong Scottish accent and that I’m the Cleaner, so can I take message.

These days, as said, we just keep the phone in Answermachine.

[OLDMAN]

3 more text ones saying parcel delivery / check tracking / pay money etc, over the weekend, one was a repeat from the other day, the second was similar but unobtainable number but the third just made me laugh

It was also another unobtainable number and went along the lines of......................

‘’George, your parcel is on its way, please click the link for tracking’’ Who TF is George, are they really that dumb to think that will fool anyone?

[MickEdge]

3 more text ones saying parcel delivery / check tracking / pay money etc, over the weekend, one was a repeat from the other day, the second was similar but unobtainable number but the third just made me laugh

It was also another unobtainable number and went along the lines of......................

‘’George, your parcel is on its way, please click the link for tracking’’ Who TF is George, are they really that dumb to think that will fool anyone?

As they text so many, they are bound to get a few called George, also expecting a delivery, who then go on to click the link. The scams work because we are all potentially vulnerable given the right circumstances. George is an odd choice, not that common these days, perhaps they do it by country, Andrew, David, Patrick. I wonder does Georgia get them. I’ve been getting mobile calls threatening me with US arrest and that nice Doctor in Nigeria has still got millions to share with me, if I reply to his wonky email.

[lizwing]

A friend had one at 3.45am and as she has a very elderly (100 years old) mother you can imagine how frightened she was.

[maggieaitch]

I've had the same one twice this morning, strangely from different numbers. "This is Amazon, we have despatched your parcel. It will arrive tomorrow and your account has been debited with £1099.99. If this is not your order, please press 1 and you will be connected to the Amazon helpline."

[Pooneil]

And how's this for devious?

[Voiceoftreason?]

And how's this for devious?
178837982_3717200315074318_2820299892346253614_n.jpg

It’s THAT easy? I have to look at it twice, even with being told what to see, before I realised the difference. What scum some people are.

[lizwing]

Another one this morning to the landline but from a mobile, I’ve checked and the number is registered in India.

[piwacket]

I got one of DPD alerts this morning - supposedly from Amazon - saying they’d deliver my order by 9.30am and if I wanted to change the time , just click on the link... as we have nothing in order and it as about 11am when I read it

[lizwing]

I rushed out of the bathroom to answer the phone and it was an automated American voice thanking me for... that’s where I put the phone down Until these last few weeks I never used to get them, now they’re happening every day on both the landline and my mobile.

[KeithW]

I got one of DPD alerts this morning - supposedly from Amazon - saying they’d deliver my order by 9.30am and if I wanted to change the time , just click on the link... as we have nothing in order and it as about 11am when I read it

Let's say you were expecting an Amazon delivery - not uncommon - and you'd be at work at 09:30 - again, not uncommon - and you'd read this before you left for work.

Would you then have followed the link?

Sometimes it's obvious, but some of the people who do this are experts; we've all been fooled by conjouring tricks performed by experts. In that respect, they are cleverer than us. Don't let the easily-spotted junk scams trick you in to thinking it's just 'the mugs' who get tricked.

[Mayfield]

Before now I’ve said something along the lines of ‘Does your mother know you are doing this ? ‘ or Your mother would be ashamed if you’

It makes me feel better anyway...

Any hint of a computerised message and the phone goes down.

The only problem us our window cleaner uses an automatic messaging service to say when he is coming...that’s been a close thing a couple of times.

[piwacket]

Let's say you were expecting an Amazon delivery - not uncommon - and you'd be at work at 09:30 - again, not uncommon - and you'd read this before you left for work.

Would you then have followed the link?

Sometimes it's obvious, but some of the people who do this are experts; we've all been fooled by conjouring tricks performed by experts. In that respect, they are cleverer than us. Don't let the easily-spotted junk scams trick you in to thinking it's just 'the mugs' who get tricked.

Well, yes, you have a point - however, the way it was worded also made me alert - not the usual sort of wording etc. And we do have quite a few orders from Amazon - more so in the last few months, and the format of their intention to deliver doesn’t read like that. But yes, there’ll be a problem if the ‘scum’ follow that format.

[OLDMAN]

I got one of DPD alerts this morning - supposedly from Amazon - saying they’d deliver my order by 9.30am and if I wanted to change the time , just click on the link... as we have nothing in order and it as about 11am when I read it

Let's say you were expecting an Amazon delivery - not uncommon - and you'd be at work at 09:30 - again, not uncommon - and you'd read this before you left for work.

Would you then have followed the link?

Sometimes it's obvious, but some of the people who do this are experts; we've all been fooled by conjouring tricks performed by experts. In that respect, they are cleverer than us. Don't let the easily-spotted junk scams trick you in to thinking it's just 'the mugs' who get tricked.

My answer is no I wouldn’t click / follow the link - Amazon orders (and others I use) give a tracking link on the confirmation and I use that, I double check it if I get a ‘scam’ message just to be safe about the deliver and so far they have all been scams!

Edit - Forgot to add – majority of calls / e-mails or texts on genuine deliveries and they use my name so know its real – but still double check

[OLDMAN]

Forgot to add – majority of calls / e-mails or texts on genuine deliveries and they use my name so know its real – but still double check
Ha, ha – just had a text: Royal Mail say I owe £2 shipping fee for a delivery – pay it now via a link of the parcel goes back

The number is +44 7508 319463 which come up as a scam number in google searches!