Market Research Email - Scam?
Discussion
We were sent an email by a market research company a few days ago, inviting us to take part in a survey about buying new cars (we bought a new car last October). This was 'on behalf of a major car manufacturer'. The deal was a 1.5 hour interview at our place of work or home, and we received £50 cash. We agreed to this on the basis that we would get back to them once we'd checked our diaries for a time/date. Phoned them yesterday and their staff rang back today to confirm a time/date, and then went on to say "oh by the way the payment has to now be by bank transfer, if you can just give your details". The alarm bells rang and we told them if they were interested in using us in the survey we'd happily give them a receipt the for £50 CASH, but wouldn't give our bank details. Looking at Companies House records they appear to have a company, but that doesn't prove anything - other than they can scarper owing people lots of money and just be liable for a few quid. Scam?
mgv8 said:
Your back info can be had by anyone that can see your card. It is something you should not hand our freely but also with out code on the back, pin e.t.c not so much use. Also no long number on the front of the card.
I think you should be fine.
Your bank account number and sort code are entirely unrelated to your card details, and you can't conflate the two. Someone with access to your bank account number and sort code can indeed get up to mischief. Ask Jeremy Clarkson...I think you should be fine.
rainmakerraw said:
Your bank account number and sort code are entirely unrelated to your card details, and you can't conflate the two. Someone with access to your bank account number and sort code can indeed get up to mischief. Ask Jeremy Clarkson...
They must have had his full address and name as well then.Luckily, this is the beauty of the direct debit guarantee
I did something similar to a scammer who sold me a game on a forum and then scarpered with the cash. His last message to me was a bit "haha you can't do anything, I have your money and live 300 miles away". Well i paid by BACS so had his AC/SC and forum mods gave me his address. I set up about 5 direct debits to various charities to teach the idiot a lesson!
rainmakerraw said:
Your bank account number and sort code are entirely unrelated to your card details, and you can't conflate the two. Someone with access to your bank account number and sort code can indeed get up to mischief. Ask Jeremy Clarkson...
Not sure how well that story supports your position.Someone prints thier name and bank details in a national news paper, and it resulted in only 1 unauthorised payment which could easily be reversed.
guitarcarfanatic said:
They must have had his full address and name as well then.
Luckily, this is the beauty of the direct debit guarantee
I did something similar to a scammer who sold me a game on a forum and then scarpered with the cash. His last message to me was a bit "haha you can't do anything, I have your money and live 300 miles away". Well i paid by BACS so had his AC/SC and forum mods gave me his address. I set up about 5 direct debits to various charities to teach the idiot a lesson!
I don't think the name/address is checked against the account details when setting up a DD, although the company may make checks of their own.Luckily, this is the beauty of the direct debit guarantee
I did something similar to a scammer who sold me a game on a forum and then scarpered with the cash. His last message to me was a bit "haha you can't do anything, I have your money and live 300 miles away". Well i paid by BACS so had his AC/SC and forum mods gave me his address. I set up about 5 direct debits to various charities to teach the idiot a lesson!
But as you say, the Direct Debit system is very trustworthy - it's practically impossible to steal money through it (ie. a criminal removes money from a number of accounts and keeps it) and even if they 'got away with the money' the DD service would cover the losses.
After I sent an email voicing my concern that the terms of payment had changed, I then received an email from them confirming a misunderstanding. Apparently the interviewer pays cash and reclaims by bank transfer (from the sponsor) the fee to himself. Anyway it all now looks like we'll get a cash payment and it's a 'large company miscommunication'. I'll update once we've got our 50 quid (but will keep the car keys firmly in my hand).
konark said:
Cheques have your account number and sort code of the branch on.
And many, MANY companies publish their account numbers and sort codes on their websites and invoices, to enable easy payment of bills...https://help2.talktalk.co.uk/payments/pay-bank-tra... etc.
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