Scam phone call - what's the catch?

[RVB]

A few minutes ago I received a phone call on our landline.

Someone with a heavy Indian accent seemed to know lots about us - that at some point we had a renewable energy system installed (they didn't know what type), they knew my second name (but not first name), my email address, my house number, street name, postcode.

I'm guessing they got much of the info from a renewables database because we have had callers before.

However, this caller said they wanted to help us proceed with a claim if we were eligible. They gave a long list of things that we could allegedly claim for (supposedly even our installer no longer trading is a reason to claim!) and all I needed to do was fill out the form they would email to me after confirming my details back to them.

I made an excuse that something was going on and I had to lay the phone down for a minute. I didn't pick it up again so they eventually got bored and hung up, but they tried ringing again a few minutes later (same number displayed on my landline phone screen).

I smell a scam but how does it work?

Do they email me something nasty which infects my computer?
Do they try to gather bank details?
Do they get me to pay an upfront 'admin fee' to help release my money?
Something else?

[cobra kid]

If the form was a link......they've got your computer.

If the form is easy to type on, they have your details. Either way, they have you by the balls I guess?

[daydotz]

It may not be a scam per say solar panels are another miss selling product you can claim against (they just take a % you can properly do yourself)

how they obtained your information is the bigger question I'd be asking

[anonymous-user]

RVB said:

Do they try to gather bank details?

Do they get me to pay an upfront 'admin fee' to help release my money?

I assume as you say they need an upfront 'Admin fee' to start the claim and then they will have your credit card details.

[MHB]

RVB said:

A few minutes ago I received a phone call on our landline.

Someone with a heavy Indian accent seemed to know lots about us - that at some point we had a renewable energy system installed (they didn't know what type), they knew my second name (but not first name), my email address, my house number, street name, postcode.

I'm guessing they got much of the info from a renewables database because we have had callers before.

However, this caller said they wanted to help us proceed with a claim if we were eligible. They gave a long list of things that we could allegedly claim for (supposedly even our installer no longer trading is a reason to claim!) and all I needed to do was fill out the form they would email to me after confirming my details back to them.

I made an excuse that something was going on and I had to lay the phone down for a minute. I didn't pick it up again so they eventually got bored and hung up, but they tried ringing again a few minutes later (same number displayed on my landline phone screen).

I smell a scam but how does it work?

Do they email me something nasty which infects my computer?
Do they try to gather bank details?
Do they get me to pay an upfront 'admin fee' to help release my money?
Something else?

It sounds like a version of one of the refund scams that seem to originate from India. Have a look on YouTube for Kitboga, where he deals with these scammers pretending to be an old person and wastes their time for hours - which is stopping them scamming genuine victims. The videos are both informative and massively entertaining.

[RVB]

daydotz said:

how they obtained your information is the bigger question I'd be asking

I think anyone who has installed any kind of renewable energy or energy efficiency technology which requires certification/licence goes onto a publicly viewable database.
In our case, solar panels around ten years ago.

[The_Jackal]

Usually its claiming the government grant money/refund for something you can do yourself.
But all of the above can apply too.

[RVB]

The_Jackal said:

Usually its claiming the government grant money/refund for something you can do yourself.
But all of the above can apply too.

If it's legit, I'm not sure why I would be due any compensation anyway.
The solar panels were installed a decade ago. The job was satisfactory. The solar panel performance has significantly exceeded expectations.
The warranty was ten years, was backed by a major insurer rather than the solar installer, but in any case we didn't need to claim on it, and as it's now 10+ years there would be no warranty left.

We paid cash and own the panels outright. We didn't take out a loan, so we weren't sold a high-interest loan.

The salesperson wasn't pushy. We weren't overcharged (we did our research and opted for the middle quote of three).

I don't see why I have any grounds for any claim. The person on the end of the phone seemed to suggest that there were grounds for a claim simply because the installer had ceased trading which seems illogical to me.

[2 GKC]

Only two people ring my landline. Scamming s, mostly from India, and my mother in law.

[Vasco]

Likewise. I don't answer my landline, there's an answerphone facility on it (which none of these scammers will use) - and friends/family use the mobile.

[LordHaveMurci]

2 GKC said:

Only two people ring my landline. Scamming s, mostly from India, and my mother in law.

Which is worse?