Phone scammers really are the dregs, aren’t they?
I mean, what sort of human being spends their life making fraudulent phone calls, hoping to trick people out of their cash? How can they sleep at night, knowing they’ve just emptied some pensioner’s bank account or left a single mum with no money to feed the kids?
And, trust me, it’s not just the unwary or foolish they can snare. They almost got me.
Which is surprising, given that I can usually spot a scammer a mile off. (What accident in the past 12 months would that be, then?)
But they are becoming more and more sophisticated, as I discovered. You see, my mobile phone contract is almost up, and I’ve been having a running battle with my provider over an upgrade and renewing my contract. I won’t bore you with details, but “irked” barely covers it.
So, a day after I filed a complaint with the company and was waiting for a response, I couldn’t believe it when I got a cold call from them asking if I would like to discuss a phone upgrade because my contract was coming to an end. Basically, the chap on the other end of the line got both barrels.
He was, however, calm, polite, hugely apologetic – the first time someone from the company had been – and promised to get it all sorted out there and then.
⚠️Ever received a text message that you weren't quite sure about? Maybe it asked you to "verify" your personal or financial details?
📲You can report suspicious text messages by forwarding them to 7726.@CyberProtectUK pic.twitter.com/u5EgYUDp4x
— Action Fraud (@actionfrauduk) April 22, 2024
He was so persuasive and credible; he knew my address and email. We even got as far as me trying to get a PAC code so he could switch my number over. When that failed to go through, he promised to call back.
Which is when I twigged. You don’t do need a PAC code if you are staying with the same provider. And then the panic set in. Just how much info did he have on me? Could he have hacked my phone account? Could he have hacked my phone and accessed key details – like my bank account?
I’m still watching my banking app like a hawk
There followed a flurry of phone calls from me to the phone company and my banks, and the changing of passwords – even though I hadn’t given any out, ditto pin codes and account details.
Five weeks on, and I’m still watching my banking app like a hawk for anything out of the ordinary. I’m suspicious of all emails and texts – even from legitimate sources.
And I’m uber-wary of phone calls – and even had a couple still purporting to be from my phone company asking me about my contract. I ask them to call me back on my landline and give them the number for Action Fraud UK.
When I saw that a global scammer gang had been busted and 37 people arrested worldwide, I rather hoped my ‘friend’ was among them
But my equilibrium has been knocked. And why? Because some lowlife scum thinks stealing, lying and cheating is a lifestyle choice.
So, when I saw that a global scammer gang had been busted and 37 people arrested worldwide, I rather hoped my “friend” was among them – and that he gets everything he richly deserves.
In the meantime, let’s never forget the message that we need to be ever vigilant when it comes to fraudsters and scammers.
Scott Begbie is a journalist and editor, as well as PR and comms manager for Aberdeen Inspired
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