The scam call went as follows:
I got a call this morning from Sky , This very nice woman said as I haven’t called out an engineer in 4 years they changing me to a low risk account, at 33% less per month. Wow great I was over the moon, this person was very articulate and very amiable, then she asked for bank details to set up a new direct debit, I told her they already had my details and refused to give them on the phone, still plausible she gave me a phone no. to call the Sky helpdesk and check this out…. I called Sky on 150 and they have said it’s a brand new scam, they had never heard it before, it’s now reported to police and Sky’s offices, so if you get a call, it is really plausible but don’t fall for it
If you don’t have a Sky account it should hopefully be clear that it is a scam. But the criminal may then say that you did have an account in the past and then try and get information out of you.
A few key points in relation to identifying scam telephone calls:
Just because a caller knows your name does not make them genuine. They may be in receipt of stolen data which includes your name and telephone number.
Do not trust the telephone number displayed on the phone itself. Telephone numbers can be spoofed, which basically means made to look genuine.
If you don’t recognise the voice the caller could be anyone.
Verify suspicious calls especially those that request disclosing personal information especially bank information. Call the organisation they claim to represent back using a tried, tested and trusted method. If you use the same phone, ensure there is a dial tone first.
Take 5. Five minutes, five hours even five days before you make any decision. Ask a trusted friend, carer or family member for their thoughts.
The Police or bank will never call you and ask for your bank account information, your bank card details or transfer money out of your account.
The Police will never call and ask for your PIN number and then state they need to send an officer to collect the card as evidence.
Be suspicious of any call that refers to COVID-19 or coronavirus and offers testing or attempts to get you to push a button on your phone in order to hear information about the virus.
There is a lot more advice and resources available to help protect yourself from a range of other scams. Cambridgeshire Police are active members of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Against Scams Partnership (CAPASP) coordinated by Cambridgeshire County Council.
They provide a range of services, products and advice, so for more information please visit https://cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk/capasp/
Should you need to report a scam or computer crime and it is not an emergency visit www.actionfraud.police.uk
Best wishes
Nigel
Mr Nigel Sutton 8517
Fraud and Cyber Security Advisor
The fact that the physical world is slowly quarantining itself does not mean the dangers of the cyber world are fading. It’s tough to juggle both your work and your family’s safety, so in an effort to make your online interactions safer, we’ve listed a few of the tricks scammers might deploy during this period.