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Is this a scam?

(81 Posts)
JaneJudge Thu 29-Apr-21 16:18:04

I have just had a phonecall with a recorded message saying I am being investigated by the national crime agency and my national insurance number has been suspended as it has been used in several criminal activities confused at that point I felt scared and put the phone down blush

bear1 Mon 03-May-21 11:00:58

i have had the same call several times now i just hang up as it is a scam and i advise everyone else to do the same

Moggycuddler Mon 03-May-21 11:02:25

I've had that very call several times. And ones saying my broadband or mobile account will be shut down. All scams. Block their numbers. Though they might call back on another number.

Oldwoman70 Mon 03-May-21 11:06:01

As others have said it is a scam. If you think about it if you were being investigated they would hardly use a recorded message to tell you. Unfortunately I think we have to treat all unknown calls as possible scams.

Nannashirlz Mon 03-May-21 11:07:05

Anything like that is a scam just hang up and block number and report to your supplier also when you hang up pick phone up and reput it down. If mobile turn off and back on. I told it stops your number being still on system

Plunger Mon 03-May-21 11:07:54

HMRC, car tax, tax office, Royal Mail, Hermes etc. All these and more are being hit by scam messages. It appears my car's not taxed, I owe money/ will be fined by tax office, need to pay £2.99 to Royal Mail for delivery of parcel, warranty on washing machine running out and I could go on. ALL OF THEM ARE SCAMS. Be very very wary. They are also managing to get the phone number of genuine businesses coming up on your phone called ID so you believe it is your bank etc calling you. Never press 1 or whatever, don't give any bank or personal information over the phone. If in doubt phone the company involved from a different handset as the scammer might not have disconnected from your phone. Use phone numbers from your bank card or genuine business letters etc not one given to you by the scammers.

timetogo2016 Mon 03-May-21 11:10:18

I had the very same thing 2 days ago JaneJudge.
I just ignored it,a scam for sure.
Giving your NIN out could/would be a disaster.

readalot Mon 03-May-21 11:17:14

Yes it's definitely a scam. Just put the phone down

Keeper1 Mon 03-May-21 11:23:03

I had a text supposedly from Hermes to say I needed to pay £1.45 duty or my parcel would be returned to sender. All,I had to do was follow a link they had helpfully provided. I didn’t click on the link.

I also had a call saying they were calling from Sky as the cover on my equipment was running out I just hung up.

Also had the usual HMRC, Internet provider suspending service, Amazon etc calls.

SooozedaFlooze Mon 03-May-21 11:23:11

April.. Start of the new tax year, most people have been contacted by HMRC.
I've had several calls & texts from DPD, ROYAL MAIL, BANKS, HMRC to name but a few... Problem is horrendous, if in doubt call the company directly

NanaPlenty Mon 03-May-21 11:28:22

I got so sick of scam calls telling me I had a problem with my internet etc. The last guy that call was extremely offensive - I contacted Sky and got Call Screening turned on - it’s simple and free and the scam calls have stopped ?

Nannyknee Mon 03-May-21 11:29:51

I have had several of these calls. Complete scam.

Musicgirl Mon 03-May-21 11:34:00

I had that one and it sounds convincing because it is recorded with an RP accent. Most scams seem to have Indian accents. I have blocked the number.

springishere Mon 03-May-21 11:35:54

I have had all these and now don't answer if I don't recognise the number. As someone has said, this is difficult when you are expecting a medical call. Mine sometimes come up as "Withheld" and I usually answer it.

M0nica Mon 03-May-21 11:37:49

The best thing to do is not even let the message play. If you do not recognise the phone number, stay absolutely silent for 5 seconds, you will hear a little click as the scammers system realises the phone is dead and switches off. After 5 seconds without the clickc say 'Hallo' and if there is someone real there they will reply, if they haven't already spoken.

For all I know Interpol have a Search Warrant for my arrest as do, HMRC, my Amazon account is corrupt, there is a fault on my computer and my bank and credit card supplier have made a cods ear of my account, but I am living a life of blissful ignorance, and strange to say, Interpol and the HMRC have still to send their people round, I do not have an Amazon account and my credit cards and bank accounts are working perfectly and I sleep peacefully.

The joys of just keeping quiet and putting the phone down.

Peff68 Mon 03-May-21 11:39:58

Oh I hate these people so much. Just had text this morning from Royal Mail to pay excess on a parcel, total scam but I worry how many people fall for this ☹️They are evil people. One easy way to know it’s a scam is that it’ll be a ‘normal’ phone number eg +44 77123 123456 etc as if you get text from your bank it’ll just say Barclays at top as they Know your number, if in doubt copy number to internet and 9/10 it’ll come back a scam number, just block number on your phone and ignore.

123kitty Mon 03-May-21 11:40:02

I don't feel the telecom provider does enough to help us in these situations.

jaylucy Mon 03-May-21 11:59:55

Yes, getting a Call Guardian phone or at the very least one that blocks any incoming calls unless the caller announces who they are and you can choose whether or not to accept a call or not.
I got one when my dad was alive as we were plagued with "silent " calls when the phone rang and there was no one there, or calls asking to speak to my mother who had recently died.
I bought mine from Argos. They are not expensive.

weeducky Mon 03-May-21 12:08:10

My mantra is if I don't recognise the number leave it alone because if it is someone I know or from a business etc they will leave a message. You could be in the garden, in the shower or at the shops for all they know. If they leave a message and you don't recognise the caller wait a while, then return the call......it will usually be a number not recognised. Block that number. We get international, UK, land line and mobile calls regularly so difficult to know who is calling. I received a call recently from a mobile phone number which looked like a local number but I didn't recognise it. I waited an hour or so and called it back...it was the health clinic telling me I had an appointment for my 2nd jab! Got it done yesterday in case you may be wondering grin

Alioop Mon 03-May-21 12:17:59

It's a scam. I've had so many over the last few months, one just a couple of days ago. I've had the Royal Mail one to pay for a parcel, Hermes, my bank and the one I get frequently is my mobile phone company. I ignore the whole lot of them, if it's real they can write to me if there's a problem.

eilys Mon 03-May-21 12:28:57

My friend has a call guardian device, gp unable to contact her when it was urgent, as the surgery number was with held

NannyG123 Mon 03-May-21 12:31:20

Definitely a scam. My oh and I have both had that call. Don't press any button. Pay any money etc. Delete and block number

Buttonjugs Mon 03-May-21 12:41:24

Why do GP’s have a withheld number when they call? They should appreciate that they have vulnerable patients, these scams are happening all the time so it’s going prevent people blocking withheld numbers via their phone. I can’t think of a single good reason for them to do this.

grandtanteJE65 Mon 03-May-21 12:42:08

Yes, it is a scam. After all only the Indland revenue or the CID could legally be investigating any of us, and they would be in touch personally to do so.

The notification that there is a parcel that cannot be delivered to your address unless you pay the outstanding postage is a scam too. Watch out for it, it will turn up too.

Noreen3 Mon 03-May-21 12:57:06

I've had some of these,I just ignore them.Also some from Amazon, to say that my account will be debited for my purchase,when I haven't bought anything.I don't like these automated messages,I can understand why some people would find them a bit menacing.I don't mind the ones so much that are from real people,I can just say something silly to them and then put the phone down.

Elegran Mon 03-May-21 13:06:04

Buttonjugs Often the GPs do the phone appointments from their home, on their own mobile. If everyone had that number, they would indeed be able to ring them at any hour, about the most minor things, probably when the GP had just got the baby to sleep and sat down for a meal with wife or husband, with a sigh of relief after a busy day.

The surgery has a phone number for patients ringing in with enquiries, and give a contact number for emergencies and enquiries after hours.