scam alert

I just had a very convincing one, said they had difficulty charging my credit card for the TV licence renewal. As mine is due for renewal in the next few days, and I've changed the bank account from which the Direct Debit is made and the page which pops up is a very good facsimile of the real TV licence page I nearly fell for it

Beware!

was this by phone or email? either way, how would they know your phone or email, i don't recall tv licencing ever asking for that detail. A little bit of common sense is all that is needed to determine what ios a scam and what is not.

Howi's common sense has failed him this time: TV Licensing does use email. Not Howi's fault because common sense is dreadful unreliable at the best of times. About as trustworthy as Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy in my experience.

Duncan describes a combination of circumstances that almost got past his defences. That's how scams work. They rely on the victim using his easily fooled common sense rather than double-checking.

Common sense is no substitute for knowledge and understanding. Let's be careful out there!

Dave

Duncan,

I keep the buggers waiting for their money by paying in bits and grabs, aka, monthly Direct Debit. This has the additional advantage of preventing the scumbags succeeding with what they've tried on with you. I appreciate that you may not want TV licencing to get direct access to your bank a/c but all DD users have to sign up to a code of practice making them behave.

In general, attempts to speed up your decision making are done with the aim getting YOU to do what THEY want. This applies just as much to genuine companies who use expressions like, "hurry, sale ends on Sunday", as to the scammers who want you to push go/yes before you've had time to think and study their fake website in close detail. Like Spencer Davis, I keep on running, changing passwords, email a/cs, passcodes and anything else that allows me to ring the changes. So far, so good!

John

It's not that easy at times what you think might be a scam sometimes is genuine.

I got one on a survey of my bank so did a face to face check with the bank concerned before I opened it.

A genuine survey and they did not need personal or financial details.

Banks etc.I physically check with them I do not use the phone or email to talk to them.

Hi, if your paying by direct debt, why would they want your credit card details? Mine automatically renews.

Regards Nick.

Clearly by text (of some description) but could implant a virus in your system, by simply clicking on any link - without getting you account details, pin numbers etc.

And I fell for a 'UK' company selling replacement camera batteries and chargers, a couple of weeks ago; I had received no email to say it had been dispatched, and on enquiring, no reply to my emails querying that.

Ordered again from a company based in Milton Keynes yesterday (I checked more carefully, especially reviews), goods have already arrived today.

Lack of common sense implies stupidity and I wouldn't want anyone caught by a scam to beat themselves up because they got stung. Bad enough to be duped without being made to feel foolish as well. A scam just needs to make sense for long enough to suck someone in - it's not the victim's fault.

Fraud is big business in the UK. During 2017 42,837 people lost £236 million due to Authorised Push Payment scams; fortunately payments amounting to three times that value were detected and stopped by the banks before the money was lost.

There's no such thing as common sense. Banks get defrauded regularly and they're alert professionals...

Dave

If only we still had a bank you can visit! My local branch which was 5 minutes walk away closed a couple of years back, now the only option is to drive 10miles, use the park and ride for £5 to get into town as there is no parking close by. Could catch a bus, that costs just under £10 return. You can write off half a day at the same time. Such is progress, we will all be stuffed if tinternet goes down!

Paul.

Well said that man (Nick Farr) As you say, on DD things automatically renew. That sort of emailer is hoping you forget about the DD and create enough panic for you to rush into complying with their request.

Always slow down, never let anyone rush you into any decision.

I dont do surveys anymore. 1) Too many of them taking up my time. 2) Stops dodgy noseyparkers obtaining personal details in an apparently innocent sort of way. This applies with street eyeball surveys where they put on all the charm imaginable to drop your guard and to internet versions.

I dont take any notice of reviews, - 5* ones for sale! Not worth a light. Just use own judgement.

"If in doubt, chuck it out!"

John

Well said that man (Nick Farr) As you say, on DD things automatically renew. That sort of emailer is hoping you forget about the DD and create enough panic for you to rush into complying with their request.

Always slow down, never let anyone rush you into any decision.

I dont do surveys anymore. 1) Too many of them taking up my time. 2) Stops dodgy noseyparkers obtaining personal details in an apparently innocent sort of way. This applies with street eyeball surveys where they put on all the charm imaginable to drop your guard and to internet versions.

I dont take any notice of reviews, - 5* ones for sale! Not worth a light. Just use own judgement.

"If in doubt, chuck it out!"

John

I get phone calls still, often silent, but some times the recording starts. Do others around the world beyond the UK get targeted by scams by whatever means ?

Of course .... you don't really think the UK is singled out for this do you?

Probably 7-10 per week by phone here, and 5 or 10 by email and text! I think it's the same everywhere as people I know living around the world report the same sorts of things.

Several "in-person" scams too, locally. Went to a popular grocery store a few weeks ago and as I was leaving my truck a guy in hi-vis vest comes up and says I have to pay a $5.00 cash parking surcharge. He was not too firm but it did take a bit more verbage than "have a fine day, my good man" to get rid of him. I did report him to the store manager. There was another guy at the local hardware store going from car to car checking for open doors and possibly stealing contents. I watched him opening a few doors while having a coffee, and called the police on my cell. Constables came and took him away , and spoke to me afterward. They said the guy and an accomplice from Brampton had been making a business out of this gig all over our area before Christmas in malls and shopping centres. Estimated to have stolen many thousands of $ worth of goods, cash, phones, etc. Lesson - lock the car door when you leave it!

Edited By Jeff Dayman on 25/01/2020 19:26:45

... or, as was suggested to me many years ago by a co-worker, leave nothing in the car (put it in the trunk) and leave the car unlocked. That way they don't break your door to get in.

(I don't actually leave the car unlocked but I do put all goods in the trunk).

Very good point Bandersnatch, and good practice putting things in vehicles out of public view.

Not exactly a scam but lately I have noticed that a lot of 'reputable' charities offer to send one a booklet to save an animal or how to apply basic first aid. (Reply by mobile phone text message only)

My neighbour's daughter responded and discovered that her phone is now inundated with begging requests for donations and soon her mailbox we suspect as if one gives one's contact details them under Australian consumer law it is ok for an organisation to contact a 'customer' if they initiated the contact by sending a message to their number.

Pretty sneaky IMHO.

A few Australian charities have been dropped from my list of where to donate my funds.

* Danny M *

Within the last couple of weeks we’ve had two scam emails, one from “Virginmedia” and another from “TV Licencing”. They were both sent to virgin email addresses so I suspect virginmedia may have been hacked for addresses. I forwarded one to their scam email dept.