Another scam

Hi all.

I got an email from a trusted persons account with an attachment to open. When I did open the pdf I was directed to one drive to open it. When I logged in error 404 page not found popped up.

No alarm bells but then I got a follow up email from the employer of the original sender saying any email sent with an attachment was a scam.

Changed all my passwords but not sure if any harm has been done.

They are getting better at this fraud lark, oh for the days when you used money and had to go to the shops lol.

Regards Mick

Always check the E mail ,address of the sender! The name may be one of your contacts, but the sender address may well not be.

Recently received a message from local friend, inviting me to click on a link. So he moved to Germany two days ago? I think not; nor had he. So he had to change all his, and his wife's, passwords, because his, or one of his contact's address books had been hacked..

If in doubt, "Delete", "Empty Trash"

Even a mobile phone can be hacked.

Pen and paper are more difficult, but not impossible, so guard your identity details. A cross cut shredder is a useful device. Burning the paper adds to global warming and emissions, so the shredder is possibly the best compromise.

Howard

Howard But what happens to shredded paper ? Our local recycling plant will not take it so it either goes to landfill or gets burnt

Roy

Roy, mix it with grass cuttings in compost heap. At least that's what I do with shredding. Stops the grass cutting going to slimy mess and ultra secure when paper is composted.

Dave

Our local recycling centre won't take it either; I wonder why? It is cellulose just like the unshredded paper, but in smaller pieces.

Composting sounds a good idea.

The dog refuge, where my wife volunteers, uses it to start the fire that burns the other stuff, soiled bedding etc. Not environmentally friendly, but possibly more hygenic, in this instance.

Soon, I shall run out of the paper sacks in which to store it until full, and ready for disposal. Then it will be paper thinking caps on!

Howard

Recycling doesn't take it because it blows all over the place when they bale it. Composting is good but also consider whether you really have to shred the whole sheet,

My confidential waste usually goes into the firebox of a standard gauge locomotive at a heritage railway near me.

Not overly green but very very secure.

Edited By Brian Oldford on 11/07/2019 17:57:43

Yes, I only tear off and shred the bits with personal information, mine or someone else's, on it. Even E mail addresses!

Unidentifiable paper can go for recycling.

Tight fisted again, minimising wear and tear on his shredder!

Just careful, y'ken

Howard

You wait till some slug empties your bank account.

Got one from Virginmedia today claiming fault with payment & will be disconnected on the 15th July... obviously a scam; not bothered if they disconnect me cost too much for repeats.

George.

I have a strange one, I keep getting calls from Southern water (3 so far). The call says that they will come to read the meter but the name of the person is not me. Also the phone number is different each time, twice a local number?

Trouble is I cannot hear the phone message so have to wait till someone comes to see me to listen and tell me what it is about.

Biofuel. Better than putting it in landfill.

I get mine secure shredded, then it can get recycled.

Neil

Received a new one today, purporting to be from BT online communications:

[quote]

We are writing to inform you of recent changes to your service. As an existing customer you are obliged to confirm by agreeing to our updated terms of service.
In April 2019 the European Council - the political body composed of government ministers from each of the twenty eight European Union member states including the United Kingdom - voted to accept into EU law the new directives as passed by the European Parliament earlier this year.
Tech companies including internet service providers such as us, social media companies and other platforms that host content are now required to manage their own copyright rather than use 3rd party assistance.

[*]

From July 14th 2019 our service changes. If you fail to agree to our updated terms, upon the start of this new directive, you may find access to websites whereby users upload their own content barred.

[/quote]

.

MichaelG.

.

[*] I have omitted the convenient [Accept] button that they so thoughtfully provided.

Sometimes the sender's visible e-mail address is a genuine one "borrowed" by the criminals. A common example of that is the supposed "Help I'm stuck in Paris" message supposedly from a friend, probably a fellow-club member after the club list has been "found".

I don't know if other providers do this but BT allows you to "View Source" - an exercise that gives you a screenful of gobbledegook but within that, shows the originator's numerical address and sometimes the country of origin. Comparison with the Source of a genuine message from the named originator reveals the truth...

I have tried using the Action Fraud web-site a few times, for both phone and internet attempts, but I don't bother now because it so badly designed. It's a typical IT / telecomms trade database; absurdly awkward, long-winded, difficult and narrowly presumptive; too inflexible to allow reporting some attacks properly, or at all. You'd expect it to ask you to forward e-posts, to a ring-fenced computer, so their sources can be analysed... but no, that's too obvious an action for its administrators.

My confidential papers are burnt and the ash used on the garden,only answer the phone to family members and a polite notice on my front door to tell cold callers to go away, works for me

Mick 🇬🇧

Hi, I had four scammer phone calls on Saturday last, first one was an automated one claiming to be from my ISP saying that my internet connection and landline would be disconnected by the end of the day, because of none payment. Second call was same as the first, three problems with both of these, 1, my ISP only contacts me via e-mail or post, 2, my ISP has nothing to do with my landline, 3, my ISP was paid only two days beforehand by direct debit. Third call was a different number and appeared to be a real person supposedly from BT and said that my internet and land line would be disconnected....(I hung up) forth call same as the third but a different number again and a different voice. Two problems from both these two calls, 1, my internet connection is not with BT, 2, my landline is not with BT. Needless to say I did not entertain any of these calls and my internet and landline were not disconnected.

Regards Nick.

I keep getting calls on my mobile that start with 0843, the phone only rings three times then the call disconnects, never enough time to answer it. I always put the number on my blocked callers list then a few days later the same happens again, always an 0843 number but different every time, again I always add to the blocked calls list and then a few days later the same again. Always different numbers after the 0843 prefix, they must soon run out of numbers hopefully, I can see no purpose to these calls as I never answer them and they just stop ringing after 3 rings, does anyone else get these calls or know what purpose they are serving?

Dave W

0843 numbers are higher rate call numbers... the hope is you will ring back to find who called you and they pocket the loot.

pgk

.

I think that's just part of their automated dialling system, Dave

It dials a batch of numbers and, if one answers the others are dropped.

These scumbags care nothing for the nuisance they are causing.

MichaelG.

.

Edit: but of course pgk is probably correct.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 15/07/2019 16:15:18

0843 numbers are for charged services. A legitimate example might be a farmer prepared to pay for a high-end weather forecast.

Your calls are almost certainly a con. It works like this. An autodialer rings people at random and doesn't allow enough time for a human to answer. Ideally you come rushing down from the shower, in your curlers, stark naked, and covered in foam. Flustered, perhaps expecting a genuine call, you look at last caller id, and ring them back. This costs you 7p immediately and then up to 65p a minute while they keep you listening to an automatic pre-amble, selecting options, waiting in a queue, or having a long rant at the person who will do his best to keep you talking...

The other reason for dropped calls is again an autodialler. It might be working from a list, or be generating numbers randomly. The autodialler rings out continually and if anyone answers it transfers the call to a human, who should go into his spiel. But, if the operators are all busy, or away from their desk, the autodialler hangs up on you and rings someone else. The humans involved don't waste time their time calling particular numbers, they wait for a hit and then follow the script. As the process is impersonal why should they worry about wasting our time. B*st%rds!

Dave

Edit: I'm embarrassed!  I've written War and Peace and all the other answers are delightfully succinct.

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 15/07/2019 16:36:13