Another couple of scams.

[cycleruk]

First one came through from a friend on Facebook :-

My dad just had an iPhone delivered to his house by uk mail which he hadn’t ordered. 10 mins later this guy in DPD uniform came to the door saying they made a mistake and needed the phone back. We call the police and he left. The police arrived and said this is happening a lot in the gravesham area. They have opened an o2 account in my dads name and intended to take the phone back and sell it on leaving my dad with the debt.
If you receive a phone unannounced call the police. Copied and pasted to highlight this new trend.

Second one - I received an email which I sussed as a scam:-

We're sorry to let you know that the TV License could not be automatically renewed.
As we couldn't take the latest payment from your bank account, this amount will also need to be paid when you set up your new Direct Debit.
Remember, if you don't keep up with your payments, we may be forced to cancel your license or pass your details to a debt collection agency.

2 things wrong with this. Our TV license is not in my name and also I don't use my standard email for anything involving money. I have another Email address for anything that needs a bit of security.

[gbnz]

I have another Email address for anything that needs a bit of security.

+ 1. Though wonder if I may have been subject to a scam last night!

Have only used Amazon on perhaps two occasions, but bought a cheap MP3 player last night. It was being given away, £0.01 for the MP3, the real cost being an inflated delivery charge of £3.57. I found the fact that I wasn't charged the £0.01 for the MP3 player a bit suspect, which linked to the anticipated delivery date of sometime in the year 2020 appears a bit dubious

[mercalia]

First one came through from a friend on Facebook :-

My dad just had an iPhone delivered to his house by uk mail which he hadn’t ordered. 10 mins later this guy in DPD uniform came to the door saying they made a mistake and needed the phone back. We call the police and he left. The police arrived and said this is happening a lot in the gravesham area. They have opened an o2 account in my dads name and intended to take the phone back and sell it on leaving my dad with the debt.
If you receive a phone unannounced call the police. Copied and pasted to highlight this new trend.

Second one - I received an email which I sussed as a scam:-

We're sorry to let you know that the TV License could not be automatically renewed.
As we couldn't take the latest payment from your bank account, this amount will also need to be paid when you set up your new Direct Debit.
Remember, if you don't keep up with your payments, we may be forced to cancel your license or pass your details to a debt collection agency.

2 things wrong with this. Our TV license is not in my name and also I don't use my standard email for anything involving money. I have another Email address for anything that needs a bit of security.

Thats very worrying the iphone one. why do they even have to deliver it - just say they did? or is it the order & delivery was genuine but just the 2nd guy wasnt. But how did they know to call just a few minutes after the real delivery? makes me worried as I live in a block of flats and often they just leave parcels out side the door ( it is is secure block of flats ) - if the crook could lie his way in he could just collect it from the door step

[rfryer]

Many couriers give you a two hour delivery window. If the crook is receiving that notification, they just need to sit outside the house for a couple of hours, then collect their free iPhone

[Redvee]

My Dad, last week, had a phone call on his landline allegedly from Amazon saying they will be taking the annual payment for his Prime account in a few days time. He asked me about this and I said it's a scam as he doesn't have a Prime account and they'd email him plus the annual fee quoted is half what it should be.

[gbnz]

I have another Email address for anything that needs a bit of security.

+ 1. Though wonder if I may have been subject to a scam last night!

Have only used Amazon on perhaps two occasions, but bought a cheap MP3 player last night. It was being given away, £0.01 for the MP3, the real cost being an inflated delivery charge of £3.57. I found the fact that I wasn't charged the £0.01 for the MP3 player a bit suspect, which linked to the anticipated delivery date of sometime in the year 2020 appears a bit dubious

Yep, it's proved to be a scam. The Amazon supplier, Amazon have failed to respond, Amazonz sytems ahve blocked me from reviewing the "product" which didn't arrive (Nb. Interesting that a couple of customers have managed to submit a review; their orders hadn't arrived). I knew Amazon were a cowboy outfit, but my error on placing this order has clarified the issue.

Anyone know a means by which Amazon can be takn to account?

[horizon]

We're sorry to let you know that the TV License could not be automatically renewed.

Spelling, grammar and punctuation used to be dead giveaways: in this case the American "license" tells you all you need to know. Unfortunately even the goodies get it wrong nowadays so you cannot be sure.

[Sweep]

My Dad, last week, had a phone call on his landline allegedly from Amazon saying they will be taking the annual payment for his Prime account in a few days time. He asked me about this and I said it's a scam as he doesn't have a Prime account and they'd email him plus the annual fee quoted is half what it should be.

My mum had one of these the other day.

Also gets regular ones from folk claiming her internet is about to be cut off.

[mercalia]

Romance Scams: catfishing , the technical name for this is on the increase

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51459517

[661-Pete]

Romance Scams: catfishing , the technical name for this is on the increase

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51459517

I saw that story. Seeing as the woman was apparently based in USA and the man in UK, it seems likely they never met. I don't know how these long-distance infatuations spring up (skype?) but best not to fall for them, it seems. Possibly the woman never existed. Am I indulging in victim-blaming? At least the man seems to have got his money back...

"Amazon Prime" calls - yes we've had several of those. Just hang up on them.

Beware of an E-mail purporting to come from "BT Mail", titled "Important Information about your BT email". The text begins:

Hello user,
As you've used your email address in the last 90 days, we need to let you know about some changes we're making.
We're closing some of our older email address. That mean your BT email address will stop working after 20 February 2020, unless you add it to your BT Broadband account. If you don't do that, you'll lose your email address as well as the contacts and messages associated with it.

It's a scam! If you hover the mouse pointer over one of the hyperlinks in the message (but don't click!) you'll see why. We've had this message several times.

Incidentally, is "surveygizmo[dot]eu" a legitimate website? Seems to be used a lot by these scammers...

[Marcus Aurelius]

First one came through from a friend on Facebook :-

My dad just had an iPhone delivered to his house by uk mail which he hadn’t ordered. 10 mins later this guy in DPD uniform came to the door saying they made a mistake and needed the phone back. We call the police and he left. The police arrived and said this is happening a lot in the gravesham area. They have opened an o2 account in my dads name and intended to take the phone back and sell it on leaving my dad with the debt.
If you receive a phone unannounced call the police. Copied and pasted to highlight this new trend.

Second one - I received an email which I sussed as a scam:-

We're sorry to let you know that the TV License could not be automatically renewed.
As we couldn't take the latest payment from your bank account, this amount will also need to be paid when you set up your new Direct Debit.
Remember, if you don't keep up with your payments, we may be forced to cancel your license or pass your details to a debt collection agency.

2 things wrong with this. Our TV license is not in my name and also I don't use my standard email for anything involving money. I have another Email address for anything that needs a bit of security.

Thats very worrying the iphone one. why do they even have to deliver it - just say they did? or is it the order & delivery was genuine but just the 2nd guy wasnt. But how did they know to call just a few minutes after the real delivery? makes me worried as I live in a block of flats and often they just leave parcels out side the door ( it is is secure block of flats ) - if the crook could lie his way in he could just collect it from the door step

The scammers have got the phone set up, and sent to the address they supplied to O2 ( your dad’s address ). They will get the delivery notice, so know when to turn up. As long as the legitimate delivery person has a record of the initial delivery, that’s all O2 care about. The scammer in the DPD uniform then disappears into the ether, and you can’t then prove you didn’t just hand the phone over to someone else, or who that was. As far as O2 are concerned you have the phone, you’re liable for the bills. It’s just an elaborate way of stealing a phone you never realised you had, and which won’t get locked out / blocked off.

[mercalia]

This is/was a very nasty scam

Scammers who infiltrated BT customer accounts as part of a "sophisticated" £358,000 fraud have been jailed.

The gang targeted in excess of 2,000 people, predominantly in the Portsmouth area, between May 2014 and July 2016.

They used the details to set up Paypal accounts to order expensive items which were then delivered to addresses in the city controlled by the group.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-51536747

for what its worth their sentences are too light? 10 years min ( since they will getout in 5)

and it dont say much for BT? that their system could be hacked?

[Debs]

My Dad, last week, had a phone call on his landline allegedly from Amazon saying they will be taking the annual payment for his Prime account in a few days time. He asked me about this and I said it's a scam as he doesn't have a Prime account and they'd email him plus the annual fee quoted is half what it should be.

My mum had one of these the other day.

Also gets regular ones from folk claiming her internet is about to be cut off.

The Amazon prime scam phone call i get one almost everyday.

The best way to deal with them is shoot a bullet down the telephone line:

[Psamathe]

An interesting article

90% of Google adverts for ISAs and bonds may be scams, search giant told

Up to 90 per cent of adverts on Google for investment ISAs and bonds could be scams, the search giant has been warned – as it emerged that questionable sites have been taken down only to reappear again within hours.

As savers prepare to put billions of pounds into ISAs before the end of the tax year in April, scammers are taking advantage of Google’s lax controls to promote investments claiming to offer annual returns of up to 29 per cent.

I block ads so don't see any of this stuff so I'm only quoting a relevant article (without personal experience).

Ian

[661-Pete]

The best way to deal with them is shoot a bullet down the telephone line:

Hmmm.... bit extreme, maybe? I prefer Charlie Chaplin's less deadly solution:
[youtube]VHNciS9I1Wo[/youtube]
In one fight, which I can recall, a custard pie does indeed 'travel' down the phone line, and hit the Police officer answering the phone at the other end. Not in this clip, it seems: perhaps someone can dig it up?