Phone Scams.

Dale.

Dale.

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Dale.
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I rarely get bothered by phone scams, I think I've had maybe 2 calls in the last 5 years, until this last week.

This last week though, HMRC seem determined to give me money. A real person twice, who was duely told to do one on the second call, although not quite that politely (I detest scammers, so they get both barrels). This morning, phone rings again at roughly the same time, a number I don't recognise so I thought I'd answer it, I was in the mood for a bit of sport but this time, it was automated.

Damn it, I didn't get a chance to practice my Welsh/Scottish vocabulary. :(

I've been buying quite a bit of stuff online this last few weeks, mainly for my new PC and wondering if this is a reason for the uptick in the calls I've been getting, or is it a new scam?

I'm interested you hear stories/opinions on this but it's also a bit of a heads up, there's always somebody out there who thinks your money belongs to them.
 
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Dale. said:
I've been buying quite a bit of stuff online this last few weeks, mainly for my new PC and wondering if this is a reason for the uptick in the calls I've been getting, or is it a new scam?
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I think there is a clear correlation, but of course we have no choice to not supply a number. I suppose that we might be able to supply a number that is not our own. I might try that next time.

The data, once in the hands of the b@*&@rds has, I believe, a significant longevity and is passed around. Presumably this is without the data that "this person never falls for it", but I'm sure if I did fall for it, I would get A-listed.

I have noticed a marked uptick in such calls over, perhaps, the past 3-4 months.

Scum! ... is it significant that "scam" and "scum" are only a single letter apart?
 
There is also a correlation with spam
i purchased shock absorber for my KTM from India , 75% cheaper than here
now I get 40/50 spam emails every day from India
 
I let the answerphone answer the landline every single time. If it's important, and they really want me - they leave a message. The scam callers just hang up.
 
cymruchris said:
I let the answerphone answer the landline every single time. If it's important, and they really want me - they leave a message. The scam callers just hang up.
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Exactly what we do.

I think an answerphone which I think most(if not all) landline phone have is one of easiest way of dealing with potential scams. All the family and friends know we will answer if we hear their message and most bona fide companies will leave a message.

Dave
 
The plot thickens. They phoned again, twice in the last half hour, a different number each time. Now, it's if I don't speak to the tax officer, I will be fined. They wanted to give me money earlier. :LOL:
 
Dale. said:
The plot thickens. They phoned again, twice in the last half hour, a different number each time. Now, it's if I don't speak to the tax officer, I will be fined. They wanted to give me money earlier. :LOL:
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Of course it may not be the same "them". These latest ones would seem to be playing on the Self Assessment submission day. Hopefully they will move on to something more interesting soon.
 
I am actually waiting for a (very) small tax refund. It's in my self-assessment portal now as 'pending payment' - so there is a chance they'd call me to clarify something, but unlikely. Where they did call me a few months ago, they left a message on the answerphone, giving me their name, telephone number and enough information for me to know they were the real deal. (They had a Scottish accent - so that means they were obviously not a scammer evidently!) So it can be that HMRC might call you - but there are ways to ensure it's them before you discuss the finer details of your returns :)

I even gave them my bank details over the phone last time - and they paid me a £50 inconvenience fee for not understanding my tax position properly.
 
cymruchris said:
and they paid me a £50 inconvenience fee for not understanding my tax position properly.
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Lucky! They normally charge me for them not understanding my tax position properly!

Seriously though, generally they do a good job.
 
Boots said:
Lucky! They normally charge me for them not understanding my tax position properly!

Seriously though, generally they do a good job.
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I didn't even ask for it - she just said she wanted to send it.... As a token of their lack of understanding... It had 'scam' written all over it in the normal sense of the word, but knew it was genuine due to the number of phone calls I'd made to them. I mean who calls you up from HMRC to offer you free money?
 
I don’t answer unknown calls at home but if in the car it answers automatically, opening with ‘chief inspector Morse’ usually results in the dial tone.
 
AFAIK unless you have previously explicitly agreed with HMRC that they can phone you.....they cannot and will not phone you!

PS and FWIW I been in touch, initially postally, in March 2022 and since in phone calls and only in the last two weeks has it been escalated to a 'technician' for guidance. Yes, nigh on 12 months to have an answer!

I am expecting the next pre-arranged call tomorrow. Such pre arranged calls are setup with a unique 'pass phrase' that they have to tell me before they go through their own security questions.

PS the recent escalation was only after I pressed the point about just how long I had been waiting despite my interval phoning......I wonder if they will offer me a compensation sum?
 
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HMRC have only ever written to me, and it comes in obvious envelopes, anything else I’ll ignore.
 
We get quite a lot of scam calls through work, often relating to utility or mobile phone bills, and my recent method of dealing with them is to say the person you need to speak with is out, and they should call back at a later date and speak to whichever Beatrix Potter character comes to mind. Its fairly amusing answering the phone to someone wanting to speak to Squirrel Nutkin or Jemima Puddleduck.
 
I had the reverse experience. A letter from HMRC saying they owed me the money back that I’d had to pay them the year before. I could wait two months and get a cheque or go online and get it today. I duly went online where they asked for enough information to take over my whole identity so I left it. Two months later I got a cheque so it was real but felt like a scam. The problem I have is that I don’t even trust going to an official site and HMRC could really do with adding more security and assurance if they are going to ask for phone, address, date of birth, bank details and social security number online.

We get calls all the time, generally in the morning and at lunch time and ignore them unless we recognise the number or it looks authentic, scam calls usually have strange numbers.
 
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I was still getting calls up until Wednesday afternoon. I don't answer numbers I don't recognise or are not in my contacts, or unless I'm waiting on a call from the garage for example. The not answering seems to have worked, for now at least as the calls have stopped.

I'm certain it was a scam but if it was indeed genuine, I'm sure they will write to me.
 
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