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Odd phone call


Evil Sid

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Just by way of a warning.

 

Today received a phone call with a chap saying it was about the refund i was owed. Thinking it was one of those annoying ppi things I answered with a wary yes. he then said that the cheque was ready to be paid into my account. at which point the little flashing warning signs appeared in my head. he then wanted to know what bank i had my main account with.I told him HSBC and could he send the cheque in the post as he had all my address details on hand.He then said it had to be paid into my account. i said that if he sent the cheque i would see that it was paid into the acount. he then said that he could do it from where he was and asked if I had my debit/credit card handy and if I could give him the account details on the front. When I explained that i never gave such information and could he just send the cheque the line went dead.

 

Luckily I am always on the lookout for these sort of scams but if you know of any vulnerable people who may not be so wary it may be best to forewarn them.

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I had one of those calls yesterday Evils on the landline number and it said 'it was ringing about the refund I was owed' too.  Unlike yours mine was a recored voice which then gave me options to press to be put through and I just hung up.  Unfortunatly someone else rang straight away so I wasn't able to do 1471 to see if there was a number.

 

My other half just said he has had similar on his mobile number this week too.

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I had one of those calls yesterday Evils on the landline number and it said 'it was ringing about the refund I was owed' too.  Unlike yours mine was a recored voice which then gave me options to press to be put through and I just hung up.  Unfortunatly someone else rang straight away so I wasn't able to do 1471 to see if there was a number.

 

My other half just said he has had similar on his mobile number this week too.

Whatever you do Dizz NEVER press ANY key that your asked to be these scam sites, or you will run up a VERY EXPENSIVE phone bill, as the number they suggest you press on your key board will either connect you to a premium rate line or may give them access to your phone number!

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And not only that, pressing any key can send a fifty thousand volt shock down the line that'll fry your brain or explode your phone!  :shock:

 

I don't think its possible to be charged anything for receiving a call no matter what key you might press. The origins of this "myth" goes back quite some time and related to pressing a certain sequence of keys that then transfers the dialing rights to the caller effectively giving them access to your line. In any case, this was only possible on certain types of older PBX phone systems used in larger businesses and certainly not domestic or mobile devices. Pressing a single key on a recorded message call would simply set off a different part of the recording menu or redirect the call to a different extension but it can never change the fact that you are the receiving party and thus can't be charged for the call. I write software that does exactly this function so I'm pretty sure your normal phone cant do anything like this.

 

Either way it's some sort of unsolicited advertising ploy so don't waste your time, play safe and just hang up.

 

Bill :)

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Hey I like the thought of a 50k volt shock down the line Bill.  Is that something I have to sign up for or is there a button I can press and can it be used on anyone :lol:   

 

I always do hang up on automated ones although it does often take a while for them to get disconnected sometimes... (and thanks for the warning about not pressing any keys from you too Algy but I would never do that anyway... but others might).  As for the ones who do speak well that can be a little amusing at times :oops:

 

Interesting Bill re the fact that if someone does actually press a key it can't actually reverse the call charges or connect you to another premium type line that you then pay for. 

 

I never knew that as I thought a lot of these scams did exactly that but no boubt some use automated ones so that their people only have to speak the the gullible ones who have actually pressed a button and been put through so are more likely to then give their personal details too.

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Even If they could connect you to a to a premium rate line, you can't be charged for a call that you didn't make. To my knowledge, there are no systems in place that can automatically reverse charges without your explicit consent or convert a received call into an outgoing one. Pressing a key only instructs the equipment which option you want rather like press 1 for sales 2 for accounts etc then with that information it can act accordingly. A scam merchant wouldn't need to bother asking for a key press because a transfer can be made at any point whether you press a key of not.

 

I think what your seeing here Diz is a basic cold call autodialer simply trying to get you to buy something unlike Elvis's call that was a real scam.

 

Bill :) 

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Bill, I know you are very knowledgeable regarding telecommunications and bow to your experience (not being scarcastic), however to me it's the old saying "when in doubt do nowt", I think obs summed it up quite well - "Standard reply to these scams - "OK post me a cheque or send me the tickets" - slam phone down!", although personally, I couldn't be bothered speaking to them, just slam the phone down.

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Algy

 

That's exactly why I wrote

 

Either way it's some sort of unsolicited advertising ploy so don't waste your time, play safe and just hang up.

 

I wasn't trying to impress anyone with my experience but rather to help dispel a well documented "hoax" scam propagated by well meaning people like yourself that spreads unnecessary worry.

 

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/nine-zero-hash-hoax.html

 

Bill :)

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Apparently there is  another scam so called from windows or microsoft saying your computer  system is faulty. Apparently, their idea is that you follow their instructions  over the phone to "fix" your system which then finishes up under their control & you are then charged to get your own system back under your control.

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I think what your seeing here Diz is a basic cold call autodialer simply trying to get you to buy something unlike Elvis's call that was a real scam.

 

Bill :)

 

I presumed, like you say, it was a cold call autodialer and I guess if I had pressed a button after answering I'd have got put through to an available person (if one of their chatters was available and not on another line) who would have probably told me exactly what they told Evils as the recorded message was saying pretty much the same as Evils live one was about a 'refund' not yet being claimed and paid into my bank.

 

Thanks for the other info too.

 

It amazes me how many people still fall for scam phone calls and letters though as there's been enough warning about them on the TV etc etc for years.

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The Microsoft one has been going on for a long time Wavy and my dad had a few from them.

I can't remember where I saw or read it but there was a really funny one where someone actually pretended to go ahead with it and kept the caller on the line for ages.

They were told to press this that and the other... which they did.... but it didn't give the scammers access so they were taken through the whole process again and again it still didn't work.

 

They then said to the caller 'oh does my computer have to be switched on when I'm doing it?'

 

'Yes !' was the reply

 

They then pretended to switch on their PC and appologised saying it takes a very long time to come on as there seems to be something wrong with it these days.

 

'That is why we are ringing Sir.. to correct it for you'

 

It eventually came on (well it didn't really as the person wasn't doing it but the caller didn't know that) and so they both tried again.  After ages and a lot of confusion to the caller the chap then said..... 'ooh do I need to have internet access for you to be able to fix it?'

 

'Yes !' was the reply

 

'I don't have any internet access I'm sorry and I never have had ...you'll have to send an engineer round .'

 

The scammers muttered some obscenity and slammed the phone down :lol:

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Going back to Evils original warning and his call.....

 

My dad just rang me to say he's just had the exact same one as you Evils a few minutes ago and he'd read your warning last night so it was still fresh in his mind.  He wouldn't have fallen for it though but they are clearly doing the rounds :evil:

 

I'm still laughing though and I will leave it to him to decided whether to tell you all what he said to them :oops:  :lol:   

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NIce one Victor.

 

When I get the one about the computer I usually ask them which one, their reply is undoubtedly the one running windows. Er which version of windows would that be then. Er all versions is the next reply. oh sorry you are wasting your time I have a macintosh. But it is showing errors on our system they insist. Then maybe you should fix your system before trying to sort mine out. At which point the phone goes dead.

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