Phishing Scam Warning

[Cetti]

For legal reasons I cannot put the name of the company but today I nearly fell foul of one of the cleverest  scams I've seen yet. Before anyone says 'I wouldn't fall for that' nor would I - before today. If this helps just one person it will have been worth posting.

 I had what looked exactly like a bonefide email from one of the largest online companies covering the US and the UK telling me my bank had contacted them and that they needed confirmation of my details. It went on to say that this because they suspected someone had unauthorized access. It carries on, but that's the gist of it. It's on the 'latest scam' :  

http://www.millersmiles.co.uk/

[VINNY100_2]

Hi cetti,We have been warned on our local radio about another scam and i have answered the phone to this one to.Its just a recorded message(american accent)telling me to press 9 on the phone.but if you do, it can cost you �20 squid a minute!I have heard of the one you mentioned.I guess we just have to except there's a lot of dodgy people(for a better word)out there!everybody beware!well done for highlighting this problem cetti.(:)

[twiglet4frog]

dont mean to be funny here but i wouldnt be gullible simply because no matter what bank in the world contacted u they would never ask for details on a phone or on an email, ever!!! they would ring u and ask u to go into the branch to speak to someone personally, and even if they discussed it on the phone they wouldnt ask u for any personal details! I know how believable things can be but common sense would say that a bank would never do that, or it wouldnt be a very popular bank would it?

[VINNY100_2]

There are gullible people out there twigg.old people can get really confused by these scams.

[flump1]

Well thanks for sharing that Cetti, I can sometimes become complacent and it needs a shake like that to wake me up !!! Is there no end to how mean some folk are?   I would like to think I would never respond to emails asking bank details,however these scammers are getting smarter.

[Oneeyedvic]

vinny - just to let you know, the maximum a call can be charged at in this country is �1.50 per minute. This will also be a number starting 09....

I don't know why emails, radio stations and other scare mongerers love to share this �50 per minute rubbish all the time. A local police force even had to apologise around 6 months ago for giving this rubbish advice!

[Shipstabber]

My husband had one of these emails. Don't know if it was supposed to be from the same company (and I don't see that there is a legal problem in mentioning that it was Amazon as it clearly wasn't from them) but it was instantly recognisable as fake by the extremely poor English used.  Also ignore anything that threatens to suspend your account.

[bernardo]

I've had loads of similar emails from loads of pretend companies, most of which are pretending to be things of which I do not even have an account anyway.  It is one of the most obvious things that one should never give out one's account details over the internet, and I am surprised that you describe it as "one of the cleverest scams yet".  It is not even remotely clever; it is obvious and pathetic.

[Cetti]

Please leave out the condescending remarks and sneers as this achieves nothing. I did say I nearly fell for it.

This post was for others like myself who rush through emails but have deleted numerous scam emails in the past thinking we can spot one a mile away only to be  confronted with  one that started just today -  perfect english, perfect spelling and  an exact copy of  a letter I received from this company only last week.

Thanks to Vinny, flump and anyone else who understands the reason for this post. I need not have bothered you know.

[VINNY100_2]

here

[Oneeyedvic]

Yes Vinny -they are talking about getting cahrged �15 - that is the toal - �1.50 a minutre for ten minutes.

 

Last year, ICSTIS who are responsible for premium rate numbers in this country refused to give permission for �2.50 per minute and �5 per minute charges to be made available as there was plenty of misuse going on iwth the �1.50 per min lines already

[VINNY100_2]

Thats fair oneeyedvic.The �1.50 reminds me of how my daughter got ripped of by a ringtone company..and that certainly came to more than �15..squid....! cetti is just trying to warn people. .Im more worried about older people getting scammed.But I would have thought anybody getting ripped of,be it �15 squid or more was a bit of a downer!!  In my local offy, you can get 16 cans of becks for �15.Id rather he had it than some con merchant...cheers( :)vic.:::::::::cheers cetti..(:)

[Cetti]

I've just received an email warning me not to open any mail entitled 'WTC Survivor' as this is a virus which will erase the whole of my C drive. It's a HOAX, there is no such virus but it comes from a close friend with 25 known addresses.

Just not my day ;-)

[stevie21]

twiglet4frog, it's not impossible that a bank would ring you and ask for some personal details. I've done it - I've had to establish that the person that I was intending to divulge personal details was the person who had lifted the phone and not their sister/babysitter...

Of course it's not too common and even if someone said to me "I don't believe you're from the Bank of Stevie" then I'd probably be happy that they're so vigilent.

[AngelofDeath]

Actually twiglet4frog, banks do phone and ask for certain details to verify your identity before speaking to you. I have had calls like this where they ask for name, address, date of birth, mothers maiden name etc. I have even been asked by my bank to identify when and how much the last payment that left my account was. They use these as security questions to ensure they are talking to the accountee before giving out personal information.

A friend at work recently had a call from his bank and asked all of the above questions. He refused to answer on the grounds that he didn't have any proof who they were. He then phoned them back and confirmed that it was they who had phoned him.

It's not just a case of being gullible, some of these scams are very well thought out and presented. I signed up with PayPal last year and within a month got an e-mail claiming someone had tried to access my account. As I had never received this scam before signing up and I was relatively new to the internet I got very worried. Discussing it with a friend convinced me it was just a scam and I ignored it.

[dilligaf]

Why does VINNY100-2 concern himself so much about older people and think they can be confused so easily. Sounds like ageism.
Old myself but never been caught in a scam. Wisdom comes with age.

[VINNY100_2]

Dilligaf.my auntie was in the early stages of alzheimer's  when she was conned by people knocking on her door and paying her pennies for antique furniture.By the time the family found out it was to late.they were never found.I find your ageism answer quite stupid in the extreme.

[dilligaf]

Hello again VINNY100_2. I do sympathise about your auntie with alzheimers and appreciate what she and her family must have gone through. . My point being that it is not just age that creates confusion in the mind but some other "disorder"
I hope her "visitors" were caught and duly punished. But this day and age I doubt it.