I did have a phone call EXACTLY like one of them my Mum got, claiming to be
from my bank's fraud department. They believed my card had been cloned
(unless I had recently been in a particular shop some hundreds of miles
away) and that it should be blocked.
I said that I would phone the bank's helpline myself - and indeed they did
confirm the situation - and arranged a replacement card to be sent to me.
Jez
On 11 December 2015 at 14:09, Charles Geilfuss <charles.geilfuss@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> Bastards! I worry about this with my Dad and his sister, both of whom are
> in their late 80's. I impress on them no legitimate bank nor the IRS will
> ever, ever, ever call you on the phone with official business. They only
> correspond by mail. If anyone ever calls and claims to be bank or any
> government agency (IRS, police, County tax office, etc.), just hang up, it
> is a scam.
>
> Charlie
>
> 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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