I’ve been scammed

Yes, very frustrating for you. I played no part in the scams I experienced either, other than paying for petrol using my debit card (this was some years ago). It was swiftly cloned whilst payment was being made.

The other scam was someone using my address for an account with a well-known clothing company and hoping, I suppose, to waylay deliveries, but the company was suspicious about the address and actually wrote to alert me. Again, some years ago. I was lucky.

I hope things are put right for you soon and things can get back to normal for you.

Thanks Delila
Neither of the frauds were avoidable by me they all happened at source the company’s end I mean but made such a lot of problems and upset for me as my account is now unusable until further notice

Poor you - very sorry to hear this Bluebell, so I’m sending sympathy as I cannot advise. I’ve had a few near-misses with attempted scams and cloned cards, so I know how vulnerable you must be feeling. In the case of the cloned card the bank sorted it & refunded the money involved, and the company concerned dealt with the attempted scam, but it was all very worrying at the time. Neither were online scams.

Well unfortunately my nightmare didn’t finish there
A few weeks after, the scammers who used my account number had obviously sold it on as I had new activity on my account
This time the new scammers tried to pay for something with a fraudulent credit card My account was shut down with no explanation, well I guess they couldn’t warn me because at that point it looked like me. So next day back to the shop 2.5 hours one day and 2.5 the next day The shop manager has done everything he can to help me but nothing I can do as account has been closed to me but I can’t have another new account while the other is alive and they can’t kill it till they have finished their investigation So I m in horrible limbo land
Had to pay for a temporary SIM card (which will be later compensated) and a new temporary number 😢
I can’t tell you how much this has affected and upset me

It wasn’t an online scam France but thanks for trying to help
I am quite safe online

Frenchgalinspain

BlueBelle

I agree Sasta I can’t see how anyone could manage it without them being suspicious they know all my details age etc ami likely to change my address order spanking new phones and phone plans why didn’t they check with me before sending them out They were sent out within 12 hours of the order !!!*😀

Frenchgalinspain I don’t have anyone to block !!! It all happened at their end not mine The COMPANY was scammed I stopped it before it got to any payment

Now I understand.

Hoping that this mess has a solution.

Perhaps get an encrypted private Swiss email from Proton.com ..

There is a free plan and a paid for ..

I have an old gmail but I use proton for all my magazine related activities.

It is worth its weight in gold / 12 €uros a month ..

Best wishes.

You can also use a VPN which is a highly private means of being on line.

BlueBelle

I agree Sasta I can’t see how anyone could manage it without them being suspicious they know all my details age etc ami likely to change my address order spanking new phones and phone plans why didn’t they check with me before sending them out They were sent out within 12 hours of the order !!!*😀

Frenchgalinspain I don’t have anyone to block !!! It all happened at their end not mine The COMPANY was scammed I stopped it before it got to any payment

Now I understand.

Hoping that this mess has a solution.

Perhaps get an encrypted private Swiss email from Proton.com ..

There is a free plan and a paid for ..

I have an old gmail but I use proton for all my magazine related activities.

It is worth its weight in gold / 12 €uros a month ..

Best wishes.

I agree Sasta I can’t see how anyone could manage it without them being suspicious they know all my details age etc ami likely to change my address order spanking new phones and phone plans why didn’t they check with me before sending them out They were sent out within 12 hours of the order !!!*😀

Frenchgalinspain I don’t have anyone to block !!! It all happened at their end not mine The COMPANY was scammed I stopped it before it got to any payment

So sorry to hear this ..

In my viewpoint, I would go to the LEGAL DEPT. of THE PHONE COMPANY That you are affiliated with and show him or her the emails and the communications you had ..

ALSO BLOCK THESE THIEVES IMMEDIATELY.

note: In Spain, we have Institute National of Cyberfraud

Check to see if there is one in London.

I would assume there is one.

Also note: Google is finishing a cyber fraud hot line for help in MÁLAGA called: VIRUS TOTAL ..

I do not know if this will be international but I believe so from their article online.

All my best wishes. NEVER ANSWER THEM. PUT IN SPAM.

AND SHOW THE PHONE COMPANY.

THEY KNOW THEIR INVOICES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s rotten luck Bluebell and so sly. This exact thing happened to my friend. I think the phone companies are partly responsible for not putting checks in place before sending out new phones. They know these scams have been active for some time, it was a couple of years ago for my friend. If anybody ‘changes’ their address then orders new phones surely it should be picked up as a potential scam.

Bluebell what a horrible thing to happen to you, the feeling of panic and terror that goes through you is horrible, I have been scammed before, I ordered from a website which had been copied, when I didn't get a verifying e mail I felt something wasn't right so contacted my credit company and got through to action fraud, I was shaking talking to them, but they managed to get my money back, scammers are the lowest of the low. hope everything works out well for you..

So sorry BlueBelle. What a worry for you.

GrannyGroves
Action Fraud sort the wheat from the chaff. They decide what cases go to the police to investigate. They have no power.

I was scammed and my bank told me and refunded, but sometime later received an invoice (been paid) for expensive pr of jeans from a shop which a rich, randy old man used to own, which had the name of “purchaser” and his address in Acton. Informed Police and bank Fraud Office and nothing was done, despite having his details

As I said upthread the first thing I did was to go into my bank Grannygrove but thanks anyway

Oldeman thanks for the advice but honestly I am quite informed and would never pass on any information like that Never have and never will hence the reason I went personally into the shop personally the following morning.
It was not a scam I had ANY involvement in ….fraud dept told me I did everything correctly

Nothing has been take out of my account crosstitchfan

BlueBelle, you may have sorted everything now as it's a few days since you wrote your predicament, but karmalady is right, you need to report this to Action Fraud, which is the UK Police Fraud department, you can do it from a landline. I've been scammed before with offers I took up on both Facebook and YouTube, it's one of the worst feelings to go through because your mind works overtime with the "what if's"!
I hope you get it sorted soon if you haven't already. Just as a precaution it might be a good thing to ring your bank and report what's happened - I'm always worried these - excuse my language - scamming bastards can hack into my phone and get all sorts of info, sorry don't mean to scare the hell out of you, but it's better to check all corners!
All the best my luv.

Sorry, the last line should have said, So, if you spot a small……

This might be helpful to all who aren’t used to being scammed!
The couple of times I have almost been caught, it started with a very small amount, usually £1 or less being taken. If I didn’t notice that, after a day or two, there is another debit, this time of £50 or so. If that isn’t spotted, the fraudsters go in for the kill! It pays to check your bank account daily if you are online.
So, if younge5 small unidentified amount suddenly being debited, you should raise the alarm with the bank.

Bluebelle, please remember if you are asked for any details over the phone such as account numbers, addresses, bank account details etc do NOT give them. Request that they contact you in writing on a full company letterhead.

As previously stated ACTION FRAUD will not do anything. it just monitors crime but does not investigate

I was scammed and the scam continues . There is nothing that can be done to stop it . The banks, Paypal and Trading Standards does nothing. Hence crime is high as there is nothing that can be done to stop it

Somebody ordered a very expensive iphone on my son's account and then tried to take it from the courier near his flat. Fortuately he'd had a delivery message and managed to foil the scammer.

I had something similar a few years ago. I had a letter confirming a direct debit had been set up to pay for an apple product with a bank Id never used. I phoned the finance provider who said they would post me a fraud pack. The following day I had another letter giving details of a different bank again not a bank I used. Told by finance provider to add this 2nd account to the fraud pack. There followed months of problems getting it sorted and I went to the Financial Ombudsman who were also hopeless. I ended up getting compensation from the finance provider and the financial ombudsman. Apple told me the products had to be delivered to the address where the finance was obtained but it must have been intercepted somewhere on route as nothing was delivered to my home. What made me angry was that the scammers had given an incorrect date of birth for me and this wasnt picked up by the finance provider 👿

Thanks Pennyhalpenny I ll have a look
Tanjamaltija as you will see from my subsequent posts it has all been dealt with by the company

Be careful that any call to you isn't from the scammers again. Always say you will call them back using the official ten no off the official website or you bill. I was scammed a while back and cancelled all my cards and then the buggers rang me pretending to be my banks fraud department!!!