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Have you been a victim of an Internet or phone scam?

Have you ever been subject to any scams either via email or on the phone? Can you share any experiences that you have had, which may help alert others and to be aware?


 


Here is a feature which points out common email scams to avoid and another about potential Pension scams


 


Created By on 26/06/2017

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CaroleAH
2nd Mar 2021 11:38:36
0
Thanks for voting!
I was nearly scammed on Sunday. I was ordering a new electric toothbrush from a well known outlet and at the bottom of the page there was a banner saying that I had a free entry in their prize draw. I clicked on it and was taken to a different webpage with about 15 boxes on it - I had three chances to click on the box with the prize. First two boxes were empty but then the third revealed my prize - an iPhone 11 Pro. Wow!!! Great prize except that they then wanted my credit card details to pay £1.50 towards the postage of my prize. Hang on a minute - why should I have to pay postage for my prize and why only £1.50 - that's not enough for recorded delivery. Warning bells ringing I looked at the tiny writing at the foot of the page - Tallinn, Estonia. Enough said - everything deleted and my wits just about intact. I had put my card details on the page but not pressed "enter" but was concerned that the scammers could see the page whilst I was using it so I rang my credit card company and although they thought my card had not been compromised, they suggested that for my peace of mind, they would block the card and send me a new one. I like to think that I'm sensible and know what's what 🙂 but I could so easily have pressed "enter" and then all kinds of transactions could have flooded my account. I suppose the moral of the story is that if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!
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Speeednet
5th Apr 2019 15:22:38
0
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This may be of interest to some readers here, it is a page from my website highlighting some of the scams that are currently prevalent and which are catching people every day.

https://speeednet.co.uk/threats-explained-and-diagnosed/
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jeanmark
29th Jun 2017 14:20:58
1
Thanks for voting!
I'm not sure if this experience counts but here goes. A number of months ago I received a phone call telling me that there was a problem with my computer. I politely explained that I didn't have a PC so there was no problem. The caller proceeded to tell me there was a problem with my Windows programme and they need to access my PC. I again told him I didn't have a PC. He then told me that I was lying and he knew where I lived!

Unfortunately for him he hadn't blocked his telephone number and I noted this down. I spoke to our village community policer office who advised me to call the Fraud Squad and gave me their number. I called them and explained what had happened and they noted the telephone number. A few weeks later they fed back to me that it was a scam and the people had been traced and action was being taken against them for fraud and threatening behaviour. They have since been prosecuted. The Fraud Squad were great at keeping me informed.
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CaroleAH
29th Jun 2017 00:10:57
0
Thanks for voting!
A few months ago a friend of mine was having problems with her Yahoo email account so she Googled "Yahoo helpline" and rang the number which appeared at the top of the list. She spoke to someone called Patrick - who had an Indian accent. He said that there was a problem with her internet security but that it could be easily sorted out by installing a new security package which would cost £300. When my friend said that, as a pensioner, she couldn't afford this amount Patrick conferred with a colleague and said that as a special offer he could do it for £200 for 2 years. My friend agreed to this and got her credit card - by this time they had been on the phone for nearly an hour. The credit card transaction was refused so she got a different card which was also refused. As she had a lunch appointment my friend asked Patrick to phone her back in the afternoon. When she tried to pay for the lunch both her cards were refused so on the way home she popped into her local Lloyds Bank and asked them why her cards had been blocked - their reply was that the transactions had been immediately flagged up as fraudulent and her cards had been blocked. Well done Lloyds Bank 🙂 When she returned home, Patrick had left 12 messages on her answerphone but the scary thing was that there was also a message from a woman with an English accent who said that she was phoning from Lloyds Bank fraud department and asked my friend to phone her back. Fortunately my friend did not use the phone number which the woman gave her but used the one given in the phone directory and found that the phone call supposedly from the fraud department was also a scam. We certainly need to keep our wits about us!
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