How can you avoid falling prey to the phone scammers?
I HAVE no sympathy for people who have lost thousands of pounds to phone scammers (Mail). There are plenty of gullible people out there. On my phone, I store the numbers of people I know and trust. If a call isn’t recognised as one of these, I don’t answer it. I won’t give potential phone scammers an opportunity to start their spiel. Don’t bother buying a call-blocking device — the scammers will soon get around it. Don’t think a local area dialling code means the call is genuine, as scammers can fake this. Don’t pick up the phone to a stranger — it’s that simple.
T. WILSON, sheffield.
I RECEIVED an official-looking email saying I was due a tax rebate of £300.27 — if I just clicked and sent my bank details. I called the Inland Revenue to check and was told it never communicates by email or phone on these matters. no matter how convincing, ignore such emails. and never
give your financial details online or disaster awaits!
C. SHARP, Leeds.
WE HAVE to pass security questions before companies will speak to us, so how about the other way round? Why doesn’t HMRC request a password from everyone completing tax returns, which could be quoted on any contact initiated by them? This would show the call to be genuine. No password given — hang up!
R. TURP, Bedfont, Gtr London. IT’S not just HMRC. Last week I had an automated call supposedly from BT saying I was behind with payments and my landline and computer access would be stopped in 24 hours if I didn’t pay up. I simply put the phone down.
SUSAN HALL, Ashford, Kent.
I’VE received lots of attempted scam calls — the record is four in one day. This week, it was a threatening message telling me my internet connection would be terminated that day unless I complied with their request. I hung up.
JIM TRICKETT, Pontefract, W. Yorks. AUTHORISATION hold lets merchants check the validity of credit/debit cards and the availability of funds when a customer is making an advance payment. Can’t banks use this to deal with phone scams that rely on online fund transfers? A delay between authorisation and transfer would allow the customer time to check the transaction.
A. DYSON, Folkestone, Kent.