The tricks they use to get your details

WILL WRITING: Pensioners are often targeted by callers who offer will writing advice on the cheap.

This is often a ploy to gain your trust and access as many personal details – including about your finances – as possible. The firms then try to sell high risk investments as ‘add-ons’.

CHARITY SURVEYS: A homeowner is called and asked to complete a survey for charity. They are told if they answer a certain number of questions, a pre-selected charity will be

paid £10 or so – so many kindhearted people naturally agree.

However, all the answers are collated and sold on.

‘VALIDATING’ YOUR DETAILS: Marketing firms will call customers of a major brand and claim they need to ‘validate’ the details they hold.

After asking the customer to confirm their name, address and phone number, however, many will go on to try to get you to complete a ‘lifestyle survey’. These questions are, in fact, sponsored by various other companies and details are sold on.

SOFT QUESTIONS: Watch out for surveys starting with ‘easy’ questions. One firm admitted it starts surveys with questions anyone would answer – like do you have a television? Only later do the questions become more intrusive – about your earnings and the worth of your home.

COMPUTER UPDATES: Scammers try to hack into PCs by pretending

to be from Microsoft. Following their ‘updating’ instructions can allow them to take control of the computer remotely and capture personal data.

NO CALL LISTS: The telephone preference list, which should block cold callers, is a free service. Some firms will, however, try to charge you as much as £1.60 a month.

SHARES: With your financial details on file, some cold calling firms are

able to see which companies you have shares in. As a result, scammers can pretend to be calling from the companies you have invested in and try to convince the homeowner to pass on more financial details.

PRIZES: Once they have your details, scammers are able to send you misleading letters saying you have won large cash prizes. There are often hidden costs in claiming this supposed prize, like making you call premium rate phone numbers.