Scams Q&A - how to avoid being caught out

My mum gets incessant calls from 'the worldwide web' regarding a supposed virus on her computer. Luckily I was there the first time they called because although she's very capable online, she's a very trusting person and could quite possibly have given this man her details. I'd like to know how we can stop these calls? Or prevent them in the first place? How did she get on to the database in the first place? She also gets loads of PPI calls (as do most of us I'm sure).

I think the main thing holding people back is embarrassment. We helped a neighbour a while back who had lost a lot of money by giving his account details to his supposed bank 'for verification'. He was utterly mortified that he had been duped and once we had an inkling of what was going on we had to drag the information out of him. How do we get out of this way of thinking that scams are to be ashamed of? We're all human and they catch you when you're at your most vulnerable.

My brother too, who considers himself the worldliest of people, was taken advantage of. This was at an ATM and he was distracted by the lady behind him and next thing he knew his card had disappeared (so had she!) and by the time he got to the bank down the road, a chunk of money had been withdrawn. It's the oldest trick - they all are - but surely human nature is to be trusting? How do you protect yourself without becoming a horribly sceptical shrew?

I thought I'd lost my debit card a while ago and realised that I had no idea what number to call to report it! I could have driven to a branch, but what about people who rely on public transport?

I've now made a note of the number to phone to report a lost or stolen card and keep it in various places (in case my bag's stolen too).

Not scam-related, but thought I'd mention it on this thread.

Anyone who cold calls me gets short shrift! I don't answer calls that register 'withheld number'. I am a cynic through and through, learned behaviour from DH who takes no prisoners!!

Me too, Judthepud2. My DH and I never answer 'withheld number' calls. It can be a nuisance, though, to keep to this rigidly as we have missed appointment confirmation calls from the hospital more than once. So now we tend to answer them if either of us has an upcoming appointment.
We also tend never to answer calls from unknown numbers on our mobiles. Instead we google the number afterwards to find out who it is and the google result is invariably that they are nuisance calls. How irritating life has become with all this technology! We wouldn't be without it though

I was going to ignore a number withheld call yesterday, but decided not to. It turned out to be from my GP about some results. She said sorry, she had called from her mobile instead of the surgery phone.

My son, who works with computers, kept a cold-call scammer talking to him for 25 minutes, pretending to be very dim and confused. 'What can you see at the bottom of the screen?' 'I can see lots of pretty colours.' 'Can you see ctrl anywhere?' 'Yes - I can see a c - and there's a t - oh yes and there's an r - and an l - but they aren't very close together'. He reckoned that while they were talking to him, they weren't scamming anyone else. Of course, they hung on to him because they have more chance of scamming anyone without much knowledge of computers. In the end he pretended to have hysterics, crying and screaming 'oh please help me get rid of these viruses, I can't cope any more.' They rang off.

I kept one going for quite a bit and then said that a picture of an apple with a bite out of it had come up! He said a rude word and rang off.

Since having my purse stolen containing money, debit/ credit cards, driving licence and much more, whilst I was in the queue at M and S Cafe, I have invested in some slim chains which I attach to my purse and credit card container and clip in whatever bag I am using. I got them from Amazon for £2.99 and they were worth every penny.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdoogjic4I

I never open emails from anyone claiming that my accounts have been frozen or compromised I just delete them straight away and phone my bank to report it,I have made sure my neighbours who are on line are aware of all these scams as some of them use the internet for their everyday living and could be taken for a ride by these scammers,when I have time I delight in keeping a phone caller on the line for as long as possible.

There seem to be an ever-increasing number of scams that involve making a call to a number, which in turn then causes the caller to be charged an astronomical fee eg £150 per minute.

Why can't the telephone companies put a stop to these? I have heard it reported that the 'phone companies say they can't do anything!

Some people are using Freecycle to scam. They post that they have an item available, usually a laptop or a large screen television. The give the reason for giving away a laptop is that they have just got a new job, and have a company laptop with it. For the television it's usually something about splitting up with partner and moving back in with parents/granny etc.

If you show an interest you will find that they have just moved out of the area, but you can still have the item if you are prepared to pay courier costs!

Co-incidentally, I have, today, received an e.mail. allegedly from HMRC asking me to complete a form to reclaim an overpayment of Tax of nearly £500. Double deleted straight away. How did I know it was a scam? Easy my total tax paid last year was under £100

My OH answers scam phone calls with a loud Chinese accent pretending to be a Chinese takeaway. This was funny for about a week but now he does it all the time and quite a few genuine callers have been missed. How can I stop him? ( he thinks it's hilarious) .

I know a bit of Welsh thanks to my Welsh Mum and I just string a few words together which really confuses them and eventually they just ring off.

When they say my computer has a problem I ask if they are part of Microsoft and they always say they are so I ask for their name then thank them profusely for calling and say I will pass on their name to my Son as he is Managing Director of Microsoft ( He ISN'T of course) and they soon hang up.

If I can't be bothered I just say "We don't accept calls of this nature, Goodbye" and put phone down.

Also, on our porch window we have a sticker which states that we do not buy goods or services at the door so please do not annoy us by ringing the bell. This seems to work as we get almost no callers and if we do I just point to the notice and they go away.

Above all, I believe you have to stay determined and strong to deal with these calls and don't feel intimidated or let them take you on a guilt trip

We have a sign by our front door that is very effective and a call blocker on our landline.
Why has this scamming and cold calling got worse in recent years, when we are being told that the law has been tightening up?

Today out of the blue I have received from Facebook a message on my IPhone sending me my Facebook confirmation code, do any of you know if this is dodgy please ? They gave me a website address to follow up which I ignored. I have removed it from my phone.

suzied learn a couple of phrases in Chinese (easy to do on sites such as babel fish) then next time does it, start spurting out the phrases in an angry
tone. Serve only Chinese food for a few days, (not the nice stuff, mock some up such as chickens feet in a bowl of thin liquid with a few strips of bamboo shoots or water chestnuts in.) and insist (in Chinese) that he removes his shoes before coming indoors. Doesn't really matter if you are saying "you are an idiot, and your silly chinese thing is no longer funny" Or even "I send the curse of a thousand dragons to disrupt your bowels"

Lol, Phoenix, but I think he'd think I was joining in! Besides which, he does the cooking. ( he does have his uses!)