Spam Telephone Calls ?

[smurfchops]

I have had four phone calls today from a robot giving my name and saying they are from Santander (Abbey) and saying they have an important message for me. They wanted me to press a key on my telephone and I had something in the back of my mind where I had read an article saying not to do this. I hung up each time. Eventually I dialled 141 and got this number 0845 351 2275. I rang back and again it said it was Santander and to press 1 if I had received a letter or 2 if I had received a phone call. I hung up again. I am going to ring the Abbey on Monday but I am furious about this. How can I stop these calls ?? And are they really spam ?? Where could they have got my name from ?

[factor-fiction]

If they ring again why not press the key on the phone- no reason why this would cause a problem- and you'll have a better idea of what it's about.Or if you are certain it's spam and you have no Santander accounts then see if you can bar the number

[Buenchico]

While automated phone calls can be annoying, I'd urge you to find out as soon you can why Santander have called you.

I got a 'robotic' phone message from Santander a few weeks ago, urging me to call their security people. I was suspicious that, by phoning back, I could be walking into a trap where I was required to give my card details (including my PIN) to someone purporting to be from Santander. So I was very cautious when I phoned back. However the only security details I was asked for (such as my address and date of birth) didn't relate to my card and it quickly became clear that the lady I was speaking to was genuinely from Santander. (For example, she had a full history of my transactions to hand, including cheques paid in as well as money drawn out).

The lady then explained that their system monitors cash machine withdrawals, checking for any suspicious activities. She asked me about three recent withdrawals made in East London. (I live in Suffolk). They totalled £800 and I knew nothing about them. (i.e. someone had stolen £800 from my account). After a few more questions, the lady said that she'd initiated a fraud investigation and that I should get my money back in about 10 days time. (It was exactly 10 days later when I got a letter from Santander, stating that the money had been refunded).

That number is genuine:
http://whocallsme.com...ber.aspx/008453512275
Santander are trying to help you keep your money secure. (You may well have already have had some stolen) I urge you to call them as soon as possible.

Chris

[swanko]

i found this link,
http://whocallsme.com...ber.aspx/008453512275

maybe you shouldn't be annoyed it could be there is some fraudulent activity on your account and they are trying to inform you .

[deggers316]

yes well i would check if money had been taken out other than by you
giving you money back so quickly and with no other investigation into it with you involved sounds odd to me

[vivandorron]

I always respect the advice which is given by Chris (Buenchico) and it could well be the case that the telephone call you received is quite genuine. However there are scams afoot whereby if you press a requested key on your telephone,the end result is that you are connected to a fake site via a premium rate charge which can be anything....e.g. £10. per min.

Do as you say..... Ring Abbey and express your disgust. You could also also have a word with your telephone provider on the matter of stopping unsolicitated calls to your telephone.

Ron

[factor-fiction]

Hello vivandron- have you got a link to details of the scam? I thought this scam was an urban myth but I'm hpy to be proved wrong.
Also, if smurfchops is a santander customer and they are genuinely checking on fraudulent activity then I'm not sure it is appropriate to "express your disgust" since it is part of the service one signs up to.

The key here, I think, is whether smurfchops is a customer- and santander own so many brands now (abbey, A&L, B&B) there is a good chance he is.
If he's not a customer then it's spam and he should complain.

[smurfchops]

I am a customer of the Abbey but I never use an Abbey credit card. Only cheques.

[factor-fiction]

Do you have a cash card?

[Buenchico]

The money taken out of my Santander (formerly Abbey) account was withdrawn using a cloned cash machine card, linked to a savings account. (It's not a debit card, so it can't have been cloned in a shop or via an online purchase. It only works in cash machines. It's never been away from my wallet and, even if it had, I don't have the PIN written down anywhere).

If you've not yet contacted Santander, Smurfchops, I urge you to do so quickly. If money is being taken out of your account by a fraudster (either with a cloned card or with forged cheques) you need to deal with the matter before the account is completely drained.

For Vivandron + Factor30:
Yes, it's a myth:
http://www.out-law.com/page-5767

Chris

[bednobs]

same thing happened to me the other day - they were checking on a transaction made for £220 via amazon. Happily, it was mine :)

[vivandorron]

factor30.....Can't recall where I got the info about pressing a 'call-back' number. I read it somewhere but it wasn't in an e/mail.

Anyway,Chris has given us the answers and I agree with him that immediate action is now required by smurfchops.

Ron

[smurfchops]

Thanks everyone, I decided to telephone the number and yes, they were checking on a cash withdrawal that I had made. There are so many scams about, I just wasn't sure what to do. Thanks again.

[callender32]

I too have received what I would describe as a SPAM telephone call:

Hello

I have just received what I can only describe as a SPAM telephone call:

The number was withheld, but the caller told me that my PC was infected (he had a strong foreign accent, difficult to understand), at which point I said that I would run my anti-virus software and I put the phone down . I don't know what he was proposing, but it would probably be a request for some personal information! He didn't know or therefore use my name.

Anyone else know about this?

[Celtic_Lad]

I got a call from this number today and can confirm it is an automated call from Santander security team to verify recent cash machine transactions. after pressing 1 to confirm it was me on the phone they gave me options to confirm my date of birth then went on to tell me about the transactions and finally asked me to confirm that I knew about them or not as the case may have been.

[Celtic_Lad]

I got a call from this number today and can confirm it is an automated call from Santander security team to verify recent cash machine transactions. after pressing 1 to confirm it was me on the phone they gave me options to confirm my date of birth then went on to tell me about the transactions and finally asked me to confirm that I knew about them or not as the case may have been.

[punktlich30]

We had a similar voicemail from Santander today, 5 June 2012. I rang back 0845 351 2275 and went through an automated voicemail. The system recognised the number we called from and asked to choose month and year of birth from a selection offered, then an input of day of the month of birth. It then recited a number of recent withdrawals from cash machines, all of which were correct. I can't fault Santander for monitoring our account that way. It's not personal outreach, but it works.