Wow. That's some serious preparation. They're getting sharper. I think at
this point in my life, having passed the Magic 65, I would not discuss
anything financial over the phone unless I had initiated the call.
--Bob Whitmire
Certified Neanderthal
On Fri, Dec 11, 2015 at 4:55 AM, Jez Cunningham <jez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> My mother was specifically targeted with some homework by the scammers and
> a few confidence-building calls leading up to the scam.
>
> They called her purporting to be her bank head office. They provided her
> bank account details (sort-code and account number) and asked her to
> confirm them. They told her what her maiden name was and her date of birth
> and she confirmed them. Then they said there had been some suspicious
> activity on other accounts in her bank and asked her to be vigilant, but
> not to contact the local branch directly, nor to talk about this matter
> with anyone else, as they suspected an employee. [At this point I would
> have baled but she agreed.] End of call.
>
> She contacted my sister and asked if she thought everything was legit?
> They agreed that she had not provided any data but had only confirmed what
> they already knew. Conclusion: 'it's probably ok then'.
>
> Some hours later, a call purporting to be from her local bank asking if she
> was in John Lewis (department store) trying to get a £221 transaction
> authorised? She replied no and they thanked her and said they were
> watching her account carefully due to the concerns they had. The
> transaction would be blocked. End of call.
>
> Next day a call purporting to be the police, referencing the previous days
> discussions, checking that all was still ok with her account. She said yes
> and they said that they have arrested someone from her bank. Thank you for
> your help.
>
> Later, another call saying that the person arrested had admitted passing on
> bank and credit card information to persons unknown... now they have to
> widen the net a bit. 'Do you have any credit cards?' 'Yes - one.' 'Could
> you tell us the number and we'll watch that account too.' [No alarm bells
> sounding unfortunately.] So she gave them the card number AND the 3-digit
> security code on the back. [Scam complete.]
>
> But soon my mother realises what's happened (she's sharp for an 88-year
> old) and starts making her own phone calls and getting everything properly
> blocked.
>
> There were two transactions made on the card for about £150 each.
> [Presumably by phone or internet with click-and-collect, or delivery to a
> locker or some other way to avoid traceability.] She's fairly confident
> that the card company will refund her, but we'll see..
>
> Take care out there...
> Jez
>
>
>
>
> On 9 December 2015 at 11:00, Piers Hemy <piers@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >
> > PS Jez, don't forget to tell us about your Mum's scam :-)
> >
> >
> --
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>
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