SCAMS

[syenhamboy]

Fraudsters send fake Virgin Media emails threatening “automatic disconnection”

Action Fraud has received over 100 reports about fake emails that purport to be from Virgin Media. The emails threaten the recipient with “automatic disconnection” due to “invalid billing information”. The links in the emails lead to genuine-looking phishing websites that are designed to steal your Virgin Media account login details.

Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to messages that ask for your personal or financial details.

For more information on how to stay secure online, visit www.cyberaware.gov.uk

[JGD]

I am receiving a new surge of semi-automate calls on my landline purportedly from BT.

An automated voice delivers a monotone message that reports that either my BT service is about to be cut off or my service has been compromised. It then invites you to press key #1 to speak to a technician.

Of course that #1 key must never be pressed. if it is you will be speaking to a criminal scammer who will do their best to convince you to hand over control to your pc or laptop. if they do gain access they will act in the most persuasive fashion to allow them to steal personal details and/or pay money direct to them to "fix" your problem.

It is insidious and is hate ridden, they will abuse you if they feel you are not co-operating with them. They are criminals. They deserve to go to jail.

Don't fall for it.

[syenhamboy]

Action Fraud have received an increase in reports and intelligence where elderly victims are being targeted by individuals purporting to be police officers or traffic wardens. The victims are being approached whilst parked in a car park and are told by the suspect that they have parked illegally or broken a speed limit and a photo has been taken of their car for ‘evidence’.

Victims are advised that they will face a substantial penalty fine unless they pay a smaller upfront fee immediately. Victims, who opt for paying the smaller penalty, will be directed to a parking meter and asked to enter their card and PIN. These parking meters have been tampered with by the suspect in order to retain the card.

Once the victim inserts their card and are asked for their PIN, the victims are shoulder surfed for their PIN by the suspect. Once victims input their PIN, the card is retained by the machine and victims are told by the suspect to seek help from the company who operates the parking meter or their bank.


What you need to do
• If you are suspicious about the authenticity of the fine, do not pay it until you have verified it with your local council.
• Always shield your PIN from view when using an ATM machine, and never share your PIN with anyone.
• If your bank card is retained by an ATM machine, contact your bank immediately to inform them.


https://www.actionfraudalert.co.uk/

[mosy]

I've received two or three messages on my landline answerphone that an SMS message awaits, but it starts immediately so I only hear the tail end after the beep has beeped asking me to press buttons. The message says that my SMS incoming message will be deleted after a day, implying an urgency that seems rather unusual. Needless to say, I haven't obliged - or am I missing genuine SMS messages?

Any knowledge please? Ta.

[syenhamboy]

ENLARGE https://www.actionfraudalert.co.uk/imag ... raphic.png

[JGD]

Any knowledge please? Ta.

It might be assumed that any official or authorised body attempting to contact you via SMS would know not to send it to a landline number in the first place. To my knowledge we have only received one official HMG SMS about CV-19 each via our providers (in my case O2) on our mobile phones.

Otherwise most bodies make clear statements that they will not contact you in any way that requires "interaction" ie that you must press buttons in response to a message or contact. Most specifically tell you that they will NOT ask you to do so or ask you questions about accounts etc.

So - you are doing the right thing by ignoring the fake message you are receiving.

You are not alone - the fake Amazon message is the one I have received most frequently in the last two weeks amongst others.

[JGD]

Today a new form of email scam got into my mailbox.

It informed me that I had cancelled my TV licence subscription and insisted that I proceed straight away and set up a new payment scheme - and guess what - provide all my bank details !!

It was a lie. There was not even a hint of truth in what was stated in the email. It was designed with only one purpose - to get me to give payment details to the scammer.

Clearly fake but possibly clever enough to deceive some people.

Designed to make the recipient (that is me) think they have a real problem and no longer have a valid TV licence and might be subject to prosecution by the authorities.

As in all of these situations, you must reject all requests to respond - you must NEVER provide bank details or credit card details.

NEVER believe an email that is designed first of all to scare you and then to con you into providing information to a scammer who will use that information to rob you.

Robbers, thieves, criminals - call them what you will but rob you of as much money as they can extract from your account is what they are experts at.

NEVER offer to make payment or provide details AT ANY TIME.

EVER.

[syd-gal]

I had a very genuine looking email saying my tv licence expired end of April and to click on something to pay. Luckily I knew immediately it was a fake as my licence doesn't expire in April and the licence number they gave was totally wrong.

[JGD]

A completely different approach yesterday.

An SMS message appeared on my iPhone. It said it was from BT.

It stated I had a problem with the settings for my BT email and had failed to make changes to my settings that they had advised me were necessary in an email sent previously.

Of course I had never received an email from BT.

There was a telephone number to contact. I rang the number and could hear the call being re-routed at least three times and then I got a recorded message stating an extension number - it did not identify the owner or company.

A second message appeared - this time with an embedded link to it.

It took me to a non-BT site - and then asked me to login with my BT email details. A classic phishing attempt.

Designed to get me to handover my BT details to the scammer.

As I said a very different type of attack.

As always - NEVER give ANY details to anyone - even when you may think you have a genuine link.

Only communicate with companies you deal with using the web-addresses you have used before and know are accurate.

ALWAYS.

[JGD]

A completely new approach received today.

An SMS message appeared on my iPhone. It said it was from HMRC and that they had determined that I was due a 263 GBP refund (note NOT a rebate).

It has invited me to to click an embedded link.

The link is designed to get me to handover my bank details to the scammer under the false pre-text that this is where my "refund" will be lodged.

Which of course it is not at all. There will be a carefully crafted "excuse" for the funds not being lodged and can I help out get the payment through by providing my login details for my account. Just to make it convenient for them to steal as much money as they can get out of my account by transferring it to their own accounts.

Once more, a very different type of attack.

As always - NEVER give ANY details to anyone - even when you may think you have a genuine link.

EVER.

Only communicate with companies you deal with using the web-addresses you have used before and know are accurate.

ALWAYS.

[mosy]

Latest scam received several times via landline recently is:

"A payment of £ many has been made from your credit/debit card today (adding sometimes outside this country). Press 1 to stop this transaction."

They tend to come in phases, like every day for a week presumably to imply urgency to comply.

The last one said that if I didn't respond immediately it'd be too late. That'd certainly cause some people to comply.

Can only repeat not to press buttons.

[syenhamboy]

Pressing buttons on a phone will not compromise you or charge you in anyway. Unless you key in your credit card or bank details.

Pressing keys will never compromise you or bill you.
This is misinformation and not useful.

Obviously if you then give our personal information or bank details you're at risk.
But PRESSING buttons alone will not charge you or bill you.

[syenhamboy]

Criminals are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to try and get their hands on your money and personal information. To date, Action Fraud has received reports from 2,378 victims of Coronavirus-related scams, with the total losses reaching over £7 million.


How you can protect yourself from Coronavirus-related scams:

There are some simple steps you can take that will protect you from the most common Coronavirus-related scams. Here’s what need to do:

1 - Watch out for scam messages
Your bank, or other official organisations, won’t ask you to share personal information over email or text. If you receive an email you’re not quite sure about, forward it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS): report@phishing.gov.uk

2 - Shopping online
If you're making a purchase from a company or person you don't know and trust, carry out some research first, for example, by checking to see if others have used the site and what their experience was. If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one, other payment providers may not provide the same protection.

3 - Unsolicited calls and browser pop-ups offering tech support
Never install any software, or grant remote access to your computer, as a result of a cold call. Remember, legitimate organisations would never contact you out of the blue to ask for financial details such as your PIN or full banking password.



NHS Test and Trace scams:

The NHS Test and Trace service plays an important role in the fight against coronavirus and it’s vital the public have confidence and trust in the service. However, we understand the concerns people have about the opportunity for criminals to commit scams.


What you need to know:

Contact tracers will only call you from the number 0300 013 5000. Anyone who does not wish to talk over the phone can request the NHS Test and Trace service to send an email or text instead, inviting them to log into the web-based service.

All text or emails sent by NHS Test and Trace will ask people to sign into the contact tracing website and will provide you with a unique reference number. We would advise people to type the web address https://contact-tracing.phe.gov.uk directly into their browser, followed by the unique reference number given to you, rather than clicking on any link provided in the message.


The NHS Test and Trace service will never:
ask you to dial a premium rate number to speak to them (for example, those starting 09 or 087)
ask you to make any form of payment or purchase a product or any kind
ask for any details about your bank account
ask for your social media identities or login details, or those of your contacts
ask you for any passwords or PINs, or ask you to set up any passwords or PINs over the phone
ask you to download any software to your PC or ask you to hand over control of your PC, smartphone or tablet to anyone else
ask you to access any website that does not belong to the government or NHS


If you think you have been a victim of fraud, please report it to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040. If you live in Scotland, please report directly to Police Scotland by calling 101.

[JGD]

This is misinformation and not useful.

This should NOT be branded as misinformation or not useful.

As has been described, if you receive an SMS message on your phone with an embedded link, a single press on that embedded link will take you to a scammer's site. There is no way a normal user can determine what will happen when you get to that site in terms of background actions initiated by the scammer. Any number of unseen actions can be executed dependent upon how well the phone is configured to prevent such illicit and unseen actions.

It could be said that pressing a button possibly might not incur charges but there are many documented occasions where hi-jacked mobile phones have run up charges on bills for the bill-payer without them knowing.

A phreaking trick, which I have not seen many reported instances of recently, was to have an automated call system call a victim and which invited the recipient to press #1 which then reset the phone to call premium charge lines without the user being aware. The scammer would collect the fees for the calls made to the premium line from the telco. And telco's frequently insisted that their bills be paid - often at some cost to the victim.

Do not press buttons in response - it is a much safer prevention strategy.

[syenhamboy]

Clicking on a link in a text is one thing. A hijacked phone is another. However while in a call you will only ever be charged for the code you originally dialled. Pressing buttons will NOT redirect your call or charge you differently.

You can't start out in a low cost call and midway jump to a premium rate call. IT'S NOT POSSIBLE.

Scaring people with fake information is. not useful.

[JGD]

You can't start out in a low cost call and midway jump to a premium rate call. IT'S NOT POSSIBLE.

Scaring people with fake information is. not useful.

It is to be hoped you are right.

Experience of old tells me "phreaking" phones to make premium calls was a very practiced art of scammers.

It is also my recall that phone manufacturers and their software have been improved immeasurably and telco's made an effort to tighten up on those who "bought" premium line services to benefit from the stolen funds garnered during this criminal activity.

Can we be sure the tricks and deceits have been eliminated ?

Never - because this is how these criminals make a living - stealing from innocents.

They scheme and plan technical advances in their portfolio of technical tricks.

Here is a US report on a common type of theft, one of many out there.

One-ring Scams
This scam starts with one of those annoying calls from an unknown number that only rings once. The scammers hope that you will call back when you see the missed call. Once you do call back you will be charged a $US19.95 connection fee (and possible further UK conversion and connection charges) as well as per-minute fees of at least $US9. These scams usually originate in the Caribbean. Some of the area codes that have been used in these scams are 268, 809, 876, 284, and 473.

If you get a call from a number you don’t recognise and it only rings once, don’t call back! If you have fallen for this scam keep an eye on your bill and contact your carrier.

It is hardly disinformation - it helps potential victims develop much safer prevention strategies.

[syenhamboy]

My point being that it's important to report the facts and not scaremongering myths.

Many of my friends on social media forward on inaccurate scam myths without fact checking that it's actually a genuine scam. This causes more fear and doesn't help anyone.

If people read something take a few minutes to research from a reliable site that it's factually correct.

PHONES update the operating system regularly.
Only install software from the official play store or app store.
Don't give apps unnecessary permissions.
Run virus scans regularly
NEVER give out personal information unless it's justified and you're 100% certain and you can verify who people are who they say they are.

You can't start out in a low cost call and midway jump to a premium rate call. IT'S NOT POSSIBLE.

Scaring people with fake information is. not useful.

It is to be hoped you are right.

Experience of old tells me "phreaking" phones to make premium calls was a very practiced art of scammers.

It is also my recall that phone manufacturers and their software have been improved immeasurably and telco's made an effort to tighten up on those who "bought" premium line services to benefit from the stolen funds garnered during this criminal activity.

Can we be sure the tricks and deceits have been eliminated ?

Never - because this is how these criminals make a living - stealing from innocents.

They scheme and plan technical advances in their portfolio of technical tricks.

Here is a US report on a common type of theft, one of many out there.

One-ring Scams
This scam starts with one of those annoying calls from an unknown number that only rings once. The scammers hope that you will call back when you see the missed call. Once you do call back you will be charged a $US19.95 connection fee (and possible further UK conversion and connection charges) as well as per-minute fees of at least $US9. These scams usually originate in the Caribbean. Some of the area codes that have been used in these scams are 268, 809, 876, 284, and 473.

If you get a call from a number you don’t recognise and it only rings once, don’t call back! If you have fallen for this scam keep an eye on your bill and contact your carrier.

It is hardly disinformation - it helps potential victims develop much safer prevention strategies.

[syenhamboy]

Examples like this it only takes seconds to Google search a phone number to see which company has called and also the prefix charges.

People need to

Use common sense
If someone in the street asked for your bank details would you give them out?
why would you give them our to someone who calls you?

Even when my bank legitimately calls me I NEVER EVER answer their security questions. Same for any organisation.

It totally astounds me that companies ring their customers and ask them for their security information. I NEVER give out anything to someone who calls me.

[quote=syenhamboy post_id=189689 time=159239

One-ring Scams
This scam starts with one of those annoying calls from an unknown number that only rings once. The scammers hope that you will call back when you see the missed call. Once you do call back you will be charged a $US19.95 connection fee (and possible further UK conversion and connection charges) as well as per-minute fees of at least $US9. These scams usually originate in the Caribbean. Some of the area codes that have been used in these scams are 268, 809, 876, 284, and 473.

If you get a call from a number you don’t recognise and it only rings once, don’t call back! If you have fallen for this scam keep an eye on your bill and contact your carrier.

It is hardly disinformation - it helps potential victims develop much safer prevention strategies.

[/quote]

[JGD]

Examples like this it only takes seconds to Google search a phone number to see which company has called and also the prefix charges.

Real disinformation there.

Any search, Google or otherwise, is rendered meaningless if the number which appears on your phone's screen (used to be called the CLI) has been faked by the scammer.

That has become the standard modus operandi over recent years because, techinically, it is not difficult for the scammers to fake the number.

They do it all the time now.

Be aware, be alert, do NOT be afraid - use whatever defensive strategy works for you.

I think this para-phrases the advice that has been offered consistently in this thread.

Use common sense
If someone in the street asked for your bank details would you give them out?
why would you give them our to someone who calls you?

[mosy]

syenhamboy, in a perfect world scammers wouldn't exist and people wouldn't be taken in by the ones that do exist. The reason of course is that scammers are very clever and are very well practised in words and tone used or phone tricks they've devised.

I personally gave a factual account of the very recent calls I received with no misinformation about anything that might or might not happen.

It might be that being asked to press a button is simply to enforce the idea that a big multi-department company or organisation is calling. That's a guess of course but there must be some reason for doing it or it wouldn't be asked for. My advice remains that it is better not to press buttons.