Scammers again !!!

Not had that Oldwoman nor heard about the problem

Anyone else being bugged by the recorded message call that those on benefits can get a new boiler under a government scheme? I don't know if such a scheme exists but if it does shouldn't the government be authorising only a limited number of companies in each area - and publicise which ones they are. The really annoying thing is they keep using different numbers, even overseas numbers, so as soon as I block one I get a call from another number.

Not the same but am so that D had her bank account emptied yesterday. The bank are investigating how.

I had a scam email which claimed it came from British Gas - I don’t get my gas from them anyway. It is obvious from my email address they had what my name is but they addressed me by a completely different first name. The rest of the email looked so convincing as I compared it to the website.

marmight I got that car tax one last week as well, I knew it was a scam because I haven't overpaid, nor sold a car recently , so I wouldn't be due any refund but it looked very genuine so I'm sure a lot of people may have fallen for that one..

And another scam to be aware of:
I recently received an official looking message from the 'DVLA' informing me I was due a refund on my car tax (I wish!) and asking for my bank details. I knew this was not the case so ignored and deleted. The official DVLA have confirmed it is a scam and advise customers not to divulge any personal information. Pity they haven't, to my knowledge, made it public...

To all those of you who have had "BT" phone about your internet being hacked......... My caller, when I told him I wasn't with BT, said they provide the internet for EVERY HOUSE THAT HAS INTERNET. The company I am with piggy backs BT. Even the Virgin service being put in is BT owned!! Virgin pay BT for the use. Pigs flying over.

I told him I will phone him back as I steal my internet from next door and I need to tell him about it. The caller was shocked that I steal my wifi from next door neighbour. Wouldn't it be better to use a few doors away!!!

I've had great fun with the phone calls. Emails - I've got to the stage that unless its a friend I just delete them. I get ones from my bank and credit card company but ignore them and go to their website to check what they want.

I love it when the chap from the Insurance Department of the Ministry of Government phones me with a better deal on my life insurance.

The latest one is TPM a company that is, according to the caller, asked by TPS to phone because I'm getting lots of cold calls. This "free" service will cost me a one off payment £29.99, The last one regretted using the word free. By the time I had finished with him he definitely knew what "free" meant and his ear must have been on fire. They won't stop calling so I usually have fun with them.

If they send ten thousand random emails claiming to be about "your Paypal account" several thousand of them will go to people who DO have a Paypal account. If fifty of those click on the link, and of those fifty only five go on to reveal their passwords, it still gives them five more accounts to plunder than they had before they sent out the bulk emails, or made the random phone calls.

I think there is a ratio in advertising that if one person in ten looks at your ad, you are doing fine. Of those who look at it, one in ten will pay attention to it enough to consider the item, and one in ten of those buying it is a good return on effort. When phone calls are very cheap, it is worth someone's time to invest in ringing thousands of cold calls. The people actually phoning are probably paid only by results.

I don’t think they do know if you have Pay Pal or which is your bank they keep trying till someone reacts. I get endless emails with the wrong bank account.

Yes I agree, I assume it’s the same as how they know someone has a PayPal or bank account.
They only thing to do is be super careful and trust no one!
I suspect if you were in a professional occupation there’s a chance you get a pension from that profession. Data is out there and scammers get it from those with IT skills that allow them to drill down deep enough to get certain data about individuals.

J52 how did they know you were part of that scheme? That is what worries me, where do they get the information?

They don't even need a list of phone numbers - they use a programme that automatically dials one sequential number after another until someone (you) answers.

Your recent accident phone calls have been increasing lately, all to my mobile too. At first I just said no but the other day I lost my temper and shouted at the woman " don't be such a b****y moron " DH and I think that charities sell our details and believe DVLA do too.

One of my tenants in the sheltered housing unit where I work was scammed last week out of £3000. The 'bank' called to say they needed to replace his card etc and would send a courier to get it which they did and asked for his PIN number. This gentleman is not stupid at all but was totally convinced, the police have been brilliant and we had lots of cctv so maybe that will help but such a shame

And keep a pair of size 11 boots in the hallway!

I have had several emails from "HMRC" telling me that I'm owed tax back, usually more than I actually pay!!?. Click on the link etc.! Always addressed as dear followed by my email address!! I think the tax office know my name!!?

I’ve had one this afternoon from teachers pensions claiming to have an important message. I logged in on a different device, no such message.
Obviously a scam, it addressed me as ‘Hi’ and had no TP logo, but did have links.
Don’t open, but go through the official website to check, if you need to.

We had a call from "BT" this morning about someone trying to hack into our BT broadband. I do wonder where they get their info from as we moved from BT some months ago.

I am suspicious about where all these calls get our names and details from. DH was with DS a couple of years ago when they had a car accident. The only people informed were the police and ambulance but the very next day they got calls from 'ambulance chasers' who knew about the accident. They hadn't yet contacted the insurers.

If Paypal contact you, they never say "Dear Customer", they use your name. That should alert you right away that something is wrong.

Report it to HQ and tell them why.

Yes good idea..as I can't edit the post myself perhaps a Mod could remove part of the link..

That link is there now and I have a feeling that HQ can only delete the whole post. If anyone in the future is posting a link that is definitely NOT to click on, maybe they could spoil it some way - leave out a crucial bit of it like the .com perhaps, or miss out the whole of it and put instead "They give a link to click".

I should think most of us have the wit to avoid it, but you never know - people do the daftest things. You only have to look at the Darwin Awards to realise that!

Yes I did wonder if I should remove that link Elegran but I felt that without it, people who weren't aware of the scam email might not realise that there's a link attached to the mail which you MUST NOT click on... so hopefully people will have enough sense not to click on the link in my post..

I keep getting these from Paypal too - had one the other day to say my card was due to expire so I logged in via the proper route to check and this time it was correct. I've also started getting the phone calls about my broadband having a problem - what they don't realise is I have two lines and they're ringing about the one which doesn't have broadband on it! It is worrying that some people might be taken in by the scammers.