Clever scam I fell for, but no harm done.

icanhandthemback

A couple of weeks ago I got a message from my son on Messenger saying he had broken his phone and hadn't set up WhatsApp on his old phone so could I message him through Messenger. No problem as he talked about his son. A couple of days later I got a message on WhatsApp saying he was back up on WhatsApp so we could return to messaging there so that was no problem either.
About a week later I got a message on WhatsApp saying, "Mum, my phone was playing up so I got a new one, please can you use this number."
I just happened to be sitting in the local car dealership so I remarked to my husband that you'd think as we have 4 sons, X would have told me which one it was when he had a new number. Fortunately, before I answered the message, the car salesman said, "Don't answer, that's a scam." Sure enough when I checked it wasn't my son at all.
But for the Car Salesman, I would have been caught!

Sadly a common scam. I've had similar texts more than once but I know if it was my DD she would phone me and tell me the whole sorry story, not just send a text! Now I know about it I'd be wary even if I thought it was my DS. I'd ring his old number to check!

I get several emails a day and I try to block them but only the name is the same in each one but in combination with other numbers and letters. Every one goes to report@physhing .gov.uk and is added to my spam sender list. I assume it auto generated as it has been going on for several months. A real person would surely have got as bored as me by now.

I nearly got caught out by a call from someone claiming to be an inspector at the local police station saying they had arrested someone carrying cards in my name. After checking I had all my cards in my possession he told me to phone my bank to check if my accounts were secure. I phoned them using my mobile as calls are included in my contract. The scam call had been on my landline and immediately I got another call asking why I hadn't rung my bank yet. Clearly the scammer was still on the line. If that happens to you either phone your bank on a different line or if that isn't possible, call a friend or relative to make sure you have an outside line before calling your bank. If the scammers are keeping the call open you'll know it isn't your friend or relative! If it hadn't been for the fact that landline calls cost me I might have been caught by that one! They were very convincing. I reported to action fraud after checking with my banks that all my accounts were ok.

Happygirl79

I always think its so sad that some people who are certainly intelligent use their knowledge for scamming people rather than in a legitimate organisation where they could be paid a wage

So true! Scams are becoming so much more common and I suspect as the cost of living crisis deepens more people may try their hand. We must all remain vigilant!

jocork

icanhandthemback

A couple of weeks ago I got a message from my son on Messenger saying he had broken his phone and hadn't set up WhatsApp on his old phone so could I message him through Messenger. No problem as he talked about his son. A couple of days later I got a message on WhatsApp saying he was back up on WhatsApp so we could return to messaging there so that was no problem either.
About a week later I got a message on WhatsApp saying, "Mum, my phone was playing up so I got a new one, please can you use this number."
I just happened to be sitting in the local car dealership so I remarked to my husband that you'd think as we have 4 sons, X would have told me which one it was when he had a new number. Fortunately, before I answered the message, the car salesman said, "Don't answer, that's a scam." Sure enough when I checked it wasn't my son at all.
But for the Car Salesman, I would have been caught!

Sadly a common scam. I've had similar texts more than once but I know if it was my DD she would phone me and tell me the whole sorry story, not just send a text! Now I know about it I'd be wary even if I thought it was my DS. I'd ring his old number to check!

Me too normally but because he'd had the troubles earlier, it nearly caught me!

I signed up to Which? Scam Alert - there's one that comes in my emails and I've joined their FB group too. Handy for alerting you to the newest scams doing the rounds - or, in the case of the FB group, alerting others to the scam if you're contacted by one. Great thing is, you don't have to be a Which? subscriber/member to get the emails or join the FB group

This is obviously as well as reporting them to whichever agency is pertinent

@Icanhandthemback I came on here to say about one very similar to this. Thankfully I don’t have internet banking so couldn’t transfer the money the scammer wanted.

Thirdinline

@Icanhandthemback I came on here to say about one very similar to this. Thankfully I don’t have internet banking so couldn’t transfer the money the scammer wanted.

I bet you heaved a sigh of relief when you realised. I know I did. What I couldn't believe, as I am so vigilant, is that I could have been so taken in. It only takes a second to draw you in if the circumstances are right.

ourjude, I'm off to FB to join that page/group!