Yet another scam

Inside job? How did they know your policy was about to be renewed?

We had daily calls 'from TalkTalk' when we changed to them and they stopped when we changed to Virgin. How did they know?

How does a scammer know who you bank with and that you have a large amount with them?

I have 2 in the last 2 weeks.
First a phone call fromBG saying I need smart metered fitting, even got round to fixing a day and time.
Then he told me as I was getting new meters I could have a discount on my future bills, all I had to do was give them my bank details ..... Phone hastily put down.
Next was a letter to say my free TV license was coming to an end in Feb, to buy one all I had to do was ring up with my bank details as soon as possible.
The earliest the free ones need to be renewed is end of May.
Letter in bin.
They are very convincing.

Nonnie It is likely that Virgin have an automatic block on that scammer's number, which TalkTalk didn't have.

The scammers don't care whether you have millions or tuppence ha'penny, they will take anything that isn't nailed down they can get at if you let them in.

Every time you give your sort code to anyone the bank you use is immediately obvious to them - that is what the sort code shows. Same with the credit card number - each card provider has a bit of the number that identifies them. Well, they'd have to have that, wouldn't they, or a legitimate seller wouldn't get the money from the right account in the right bank? They don't know your credit card number IF the online firm you bought from uses a secure site with "https" at the beginning of it and has an image of a padlock on it.

Elegran I don't think so because we blocked each number and they came back on a different one each time - for a year!

You are probably right about the sort code but what about how much you have in the bank? I can understand a scammer getting hold of the name of xyz bank but not the account number or that we had £xxxxxx in it. Too many coincidences for me. They would have to ring far too many numbers to find the right gullible person unless they had more information. Months worth probably!

Take it up with your bank, Nonnie. If there is insider information being revealed, someone's head should roll.

Your account number is open knowledge (from cheques etc) but did they really quote to you exactly how much was in that account?

Elegran hasn't happened to me, haven't even had one of those calls I'm just a news junkie who listens to radio 4! Logic says they must have inside information or it wouldn't be worth making the calls.

I have received an e-mail in my junk folder, supposedly from DVLA stating

Your latest vehicle tax payment failed. - with a customer reference number. Then a link to update and verify billing details!

Pull the other one

My car tax isn't due till Spring next year anyway, and even if I had recently paid, no way would I click on a link!

Nonnie I had the impression from your posts that someone had quoted your account number and what was in it, not that you heard it on the radio.

I have had a recorded call from someone (a US accent) who said "This is Shirley from service provider. We have evidence that your internet account has been compromised in several countries. Press 1 to be connected to our engineer who will advise you how to clear your account."

I didn't press 1 (I wasn't born yesterday) instead I contacted my service provider separately, and was asssured that the call was a scam.

I have had years of using the internet, so I wasn't caught, but many people are.

Shirley didn't name a service provider - but I could have easily have mentally filled in the gap, and my memory could then have become that she had said that she was from the company that provides my phone, email and internet.

She didn't mention my account details, but had I contacted her "engineer" I don't doubt he would have asked me to confirm a few details before he fixed my computer - and while I was worried about being hacked, asked me my name and address, date of birth, my mother's maiden name, the make of my computer, and my password - all things that are commonly used as security checks. Then he could have entered my operating system and done whatever he wanted in it! He would be expert enough to make me think that HE knew these details, but was checking that I knew them so that I was legitimately asking HIM to intervene. These are scammers - they scam!

It is worth their while making these calls because, firstly, the individual calls are not costing them anything. They get deals to make unlimited calls per day, so they could be sitting at a phone all day without spending any more than if they only made a half a dozen calls. They use cheap burner phones - ones they can throw away if they are traced - and give false names and addresses.

Secondly, they don't dial each one at a time. They use automatic systems which work through a list of numbers known to be live (bought easily on the net) or even just dial consecutive numbers. Several numbers will be dialled at a time, and they connect to the first person to pick up the phone. When they pick up, the others in this batch are dropped (this is why you so often get those annoying calls which turn out to have Mr Nobody on the other end - some other sucker has answered before you)
When you end the call, the system immediately calls the next on the list.

If one in ten pick up the phone, and of those who pick up, one in ten doesn't immediately slam it down again, they can possibly phone those hundred numbers in a few minutes, a thousand in an hour, ten thousand in a working day. That is just a guess, but certainly a LOT of calls.

Even if only a small percentage of those they actually speak to are conned into giving out information which leads to them getting the jackpot - it is worth their while.

They don't need inside information, because people are notoriously trusting when someone seems to be official and helpful.

Banks and other financial institutions don't let just anyone know passwords and pin numbers and mess about in people's accounts. Those who work in them are carefully checked and supervised, and if they were found to be fiddling the books, they wouldn't stay in the job, nor would they work in any other bank, ever.

One of my email accounts was hacked. Only one friend sent money to help me fly home from a “disastrous holiday”. They made a smaller contribution than requested. A few weeks earlier one of their friends had everything stolen from their hotel room in Rome and really was stranded with no money, mobile, passport or luggage.

This was quite a while ago when scams were not so common but everything added up for these kind friends. Just sad when decent people get conned.

HMRC phoned me (but they don't ever do that, do they?) and, apparently, I was about to be arrested as I owed money (yeah, right) unless I pressed one. 'Well, that'll be interesting' I said, 'Bring it on - it'll make a change!'

Hett58 you know all the Grnetters would come and smuggle you out

Twice last week I had calls supposedly from our service supplier saying there was a problem with our internet - cancelled both calls. I then got another with an automated message with a very well spoken man saying our phone and internet were about to be terminated and to press 1 etc. It's relentless ?

Elegran Wed 11-Sep-19 18:39:43 my experience is different, our daily calls referred to our internet provide, TalkTalk every day and every day called from a different number. They stopped when we moved to Virgin. Somehow they knew.

Sorry, you must have misread what I wrote, I never referred to the bank thing happening to me.

I do understand how they work, how could I not? However if they were random calls it might take months to find someone who actually banked with XYZ bank and then even longer to find one who had thousands in their account! No, I'm not the only one who believes they have inside information I listen to R4 consumer programmes.

However, I do know that some scammers have managed to get the gullible to give away their bank name and even the amount in the bank but the ones I am talking about are the ones where they know who you bank with and how much you have in the bank