I have a few credit cards, not much on each. I get monthly emails telling me that a payment is due soon on a particular card and the date due.
Last week, I received two messages from unrelated companies. Each told me a payment was due on a card with last four numbers which bore no relation to any ' last four numbers ' on my cards, although I am a customer of the two card issuers.
A suspicious point is that the due date is the same and is not written in the usual way. It is down as 2022/7/4.
Anyone else had this or can throw any light on what's going on ?
Ted
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Was there any link in the messages to click on?
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Banks can get emails wrong - the data is pulled from a database and the wrong fields can be used but this is very rare and I would treat these emails with great suspicion and send them to your bin.
Do not click on any links within the email or download any PDF statement (the bank will not send you an attachment).
Right click on the senders email address it should be from the bank, make sure you see the full length of the email address because you can get something like:
accounts.alegitimatebank@dodgyemailservice.com so the first part looks ok.
Of course this can be spoofed as well.
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Do not do anything - delete the emails / text messages and do what you normally do.
That is log on yourself, as per normal, to the Bank/CC Company and pay your bills.
My Mother-in-Law knew how to handle scam phone calls - she politely said "I will get my daughter to speak to the bank directly and solve the problem".
On-line scams need you to "aid & abet" their attempts to get money money out of your account.
Doing nothing that they ask / link to makes your accounts watertight.
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Thanks all, There were no links. I have already logged into both my accounts and they just show my real number and are all up to date and normal. I'll do what Zippy suggests later.
Both email formats are exactly the same as the genuine ones I get. But I certainly don't open anything iffy after Aprils scam. I might ring both banks and let them know....although waiting times put me off a bit !
I have never seen the date with the year first, I wonder if some countries use that format....Nigeria perhaps ?
Cynical, moi ?
Ted
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>>
>> I have never seen the date with the year first, I wonder if some countries
>> use that format....Nigeria perhaps ?
>>
...take your pick...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_format_by_country
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I hate being defeatist but I would think that at least 10,000 other people got the same text at the same time so I'd just ignore and move on.
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There was a good program on the other night, maybe channel 4 or 5, all about scams.
Showed the machine that can get used to send several million scam texts per DAY!
Also the sim swap scan which I didn’t know anything about.
Crooks are always one step ahead…..
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A new, to me, phone call scam attempt this morning.
A female voice but talking far too fast.
" a charge for an Amazon purchase of a few £100s
a charge of a few £100s to Western Union and we know you do not use W U."
I even had a choice to press 1 2 or 3.
All too obviously a crude scam.
She just happened to be correct about W U.
The only time my son used W U to send money from AUS it was stolen.
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...very similar with me a couple of days ago....
"This is your bank fraud department......then wording similar to the above....then press 1 to talk to our advisors".
I have some suspicions about where the 'phone number was harvested, but all entirely unprovable.
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>>I have some suspicions about where the 'phone number was harvested, but all entirely
>>unprovable.
The crooks are everywhere. Whilst lists of customer details are on the dark web fresh data is considered to be better by the crooks.
At work there is a ban on call centre staff from taking mobile phones, purses, wallets and personal bags in to the call centres they need to be locked in personal lockers now because some staff were caught recording phone numbers and email addresses.
Note taking sheets of paper are now batch and page numbered and checked by a supervisor before shredding so missing pages are treated with suspicion.
Vending machines now use fingerprint recognition and deduct payment from an account.
It turns out crooks were paying staff to steal data re vulnerable customers.
And this relates to a high street bank. Think about call centres for shops, or call centres abroad where security is nowhere near as strict.
There is also evidence that criminal gangs encourage people to get jobs in call centres (even in the UK) so that they can get access to the data.
I am convinced work monitors staff's social media because some staff have been pulled up for having lifestyles inconsistent with earnings, with explanations required.
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I love the "International Arrest Warrant" call, threatening interpol banging down my door
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>> I love the "International Arrest Warrant" call, threatening interpol banging down my door
Somebody I spoke to through work had something similar regarding Tax she'd underpaid. Must have been over three years ago as she was a pensioner and the primary reason for the call was about her water bill. Gentleman with an African Accent who was, she said, really intimidating.
Fortunately, as her only income was Pension Credit, she'd not had to pay tax in years and said she got quite feisty in the end...
It only needs one or two to be taken in.
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I got another ' warning of credit card payment email last week. Last four numners nowhere near mine. Deleted.
Grandson, or rather me, has noticed 2 direct debits on his account which he says he never made. Fortunately he had no money in to cover them, I googled them both, one is a known scam company, MobileID. Seems they take less than a tenner a month and hope nobody notices. The other is a firm called Harlands who process payments to Gym and Leisure companies. He goes to the gym every day but swears he has no standing order or DD. I said to let me sort it but it's head in the sand and just change account and bank......his first months wages are due on Friday and he still hasn't done anything. Fortunately he hasn't given the firm he works for his bank details yet. He is always short of money so a couple of weeks ago I gave him a card on a spare current account I have and put a ton in for him....all drawn out the same day !
I've pleaded with him to get his wages paid into this account, the money will be safe and we can keep an eye on the account on-line rather that wait weeks for the paper statements on his account. I do hope he will.
The naivety of youth !
Ted
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>>...regarding Tax she'd underpaid...
These normally include the threat of imminent arrest and are rather nasty to the meeker recipients of such calls.
They often ask for payment by gift card like Apple, Google or Amazon cards. Not ideal as it makes it harder to claim losses back from the banks.
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My arrest warrant was for "Fraudulent use of your social security number"
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Mine was six months ago from the National Crime Agency, "Illegal content on your computer".
I forgot to pay the fine, but the police must be very busy as they still haven't been round to arrest me despite Inspector Knacker promising me that my door would be off the hinges in 24 hours.
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Possible scam attempt ? - Bobby
