Posted: Thu 2nd Jul 2015

Warning After ‘Talk Talk’ Scam Tries To Con Residents Out of Thousands of Pounds

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Thursday, Jul 2nd, 2015

Residents in Wrexham are being warned of a recent scam to help stop more people from falling prey to clever cons that fleece them of thousands of pounds.

The warning comes after one local resident narrowly escaped losing £6000 to scammers who convinced her they were from her internet service provider Talk Talk.

Reports appeared in national media earlier this year that the internet service provider Talk Talk had suffered a substantial loss of data that included the personal details of account holders. Thousands of Talk Talk customers have complained subsequently that they have received scam calls purporting to be from Talk Talk and some have lost thousands of pounds after being duped into authorising an online banking transaction.

Our local resident took a call one day and believed the caller was from her internet service provider Talk Talk after they advised her of her personal details, details which she believed could only have been known by Talk Talk.

She was advised that they had detected hackers trying to access her PC via her router and that she needed to allow remote access to her PC. This is done by guiding the customer through the process of downloading a piece of software that let her do this.

Remote access is then given to the scammer who then says that a compensation payment is due. Customers are asked who they bank with and in the process of facilitating the payment the customer is tricked into generating a one time passcode used to authorise bank transfers.

The passcode is then used to authorise a fraudulent transaction and remove money from the customers bank account.

Luckily for our resident her bank spotted the transaction as suspicious and the payment was stopped. Others have not been so lucky.

Leader of Wrexham Council, Cllr Mark Pritchard, said: “Being the victim of a scam can be very upsetting and not to say very costly experience. I ask everyone to be aware of scams and the lengths some will go to to steal from hard working and law abiding individuals.”

The warning comes as Scams Awareness Month launches and highlights how scams continue to flourish when people stay silent.

Figures show that less than 5% of victims report scams to the authorities, and Wrexham Trading Standards is encouraging residents to report suspicious activities, get advice if they think they’ve been conned, and to warn others to help stop scams from spreading.

Scams come in every form, from doorstep double glazing sales to online investment offers. People may be targeted with “vishing” calls where a fraudster impersonates their bank to collect their bank details, or by bogus companies offering computer services. Online scams include dodgy job adverts and offers for goods and services, while mail scams may ask victims to pay a fee in order to claim their winnings from a prize draw they haven’t entered.

The Scams Awareness Month campaign is asking people to keep two things in mind when they receive an unsolicited approach or when they are looking for goods or services: don’t be rushed and don’t be hushed. People should take their time to make a decision and get their facts together before parting with their money or personal information, and speak out when they think they’ve spotted a scam.

Top tips for avoiding scams
If it sounds too good to be true it probably is
It you haven’t bought a ticket – you can’t win it
You shouldn’t have to pay anything to get a prize
If in doubt, don’t reply. Bin it, delete it or hang up
Contacted out of the blue? – be suspicious.
Don’t be rushed – resist pressure to make a decision straight away.
Never send money to someone you have never met.
Walk away from job ads that ask for money in advance.
Your bank will never attend your home to collect cash, your pin, payment card or chequebook if you are a victim of fraud.
Your bank will never phone you to ask for your PIN or your online banking password.
Your bank will never ask you to transfer money to a new account for fraud reasons.
Suspect a phone scam? Hang up, wait five minutes to clear the line or use another phone to call your bank.
Genuine computer firms do not make unsolicited phone calls to help you fix your computer.
Don’t suffer in silence – speak out about scams.

What to do if you have been scammed

Report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 to help stop it happening to others.

Often you can’t always get your money back if you’ve been scammed, especially if you’ve handed over cash.
If you’ve paid for goods or services by credit card you have more protection and if you used a debit card you may be able to ask your bank for a chargeback.
Get advice and report it to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 (for advice in Welsh phone 03454 04 05 05) or online advice at www.adviceguide.org.uk

Typical Scams to watch out for include:

Pensions

Online shopping and auction scams.

Investment fraud

Dating scams

Software scams

Courier scams (a form of vishing)



Spotted something? Got a story? Email [email protected]



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