A phone call scam involves a scammer who will cold call you claiming to be from the Bank, government, HMRC, Amazon, Mircosoft, or another well-known company. They will state one of the following during the call or include the information in an automated phone call answer message.
- There is an unknown transaction on your bank statement
- Your bank card has been exploited by criminals and needs the pin locking or card replaced
- Your bank account has been exploited by criminals
- You have an outstanding tax bill that needs to payed or you will face prison
- They may leave you an automated telephone message which asks you to urgently contact them back by pressing 1 or 2 to speak to an advisor which will go to an Indian call center where the scammer will try and steal all your money from you.
- You have a virus on your computer which needs to be fixed
- We need to install some software or app on your computer or mobile, tablet device
- You have a problem with your broadband and we need to run some tests on it
- You have a problem with your mobile phone, phone contract.
- There is an issue on your amazon account relating to an order, transaction, or amazon subscription
- They offer you an unmissable, investment opportunity in cryptocurrency or another financial investment.
- They want to help you with your pension.
The above are just some examples of the type of phone call scams that are targeting innocent people around the world
What should I do if I get a scam call
unfortunately, scammers will target the older members of the community with phone call scams but they can also target anyone with a phone. The following advice will help and protect you from the scammer criminals
You should never feel pressured or intimidated to make urgent decisions over the phone. Remember scammers are criminals who have no shame or feelings. If you feel uncomfortable HANG UP THE PHONE AND BLOCK THE TELEPHONE NUMBER
- Do not share any personal details ( name, address, date of birth ) with someone who cold calls you.
- Never give your bank account details including ( bank account number, sort code, and pin number )to someone over the phone
- The bank will never call you and ask you for your bank account number, sort code, and pin number
- The government, HMRC, and DWP will not call you to ask you for your bank account details
- If your asked to install some software or an app on your computer or mobile device DO NOT INSTALL IT
- If you feel harassed or intimidated, or if the caller talks over you without giving you a chance to speak, PUT THE PHONE DOWN
- Scammers will try to rush you into providing your personal details. They may say they have a time-limited offer or claim your bank account is at risk if you don’t give them the information they need right away. PUT THE PHONE DOWN & BLOCK THE TELEPHONE NUMBER
- If you receive an automated phone call asking you to urgently call a telephone number and press 1 or 2 to speak to an advisor. Ignore the phone call message, do not press 1 or 2 to speak with the operator
- If you’re unsure whether the caller is genuine contact the company or bank they claim to be from. Make sure you find the number yourself and don’t use the one provided by the caller.
- If you receive a text message, email, WhatsApp message, or message via social media from the bank, government, an energy company, Microsoft, or Amazon asking you to call a number. DO NOT CALL THE NUMBER
How Do You Stop Phone Call Scammers
- Hang up the phone
- Block their telephone number
- Remember scammers are criminals who are trying to steal your money
- Report the telephone number to your phone company
- Report the number to https://www.tpsonline.org.uk
- Report it to https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/report-scam-call
- Report it to Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GRGRY7AQ3LMPXVCV
- Report it to Microsoft https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/concern/scam