Is it me or are cyber scams at an all time high?
Discussion
In the span of a week:
1. Renewed my TV license a month ago. Scam e-mails saying that I had underpaid and if I did not etc.
2. UK based mobile number automated message that there was a problem with my National Insurance...
3. Car is SORN. Lockdown. Various e-mails on tax being overdue.
4. Probably the most sophisticated one in appearance. One from the bank saying if I wanted to over-pay on my mortgage then I could make payment to... and the payment account details even looked closely matched... however, the e-mail address origin was gibberish...
Seems like keyboard warriors have had more time to sharpen their photoshop skills. Sad that it is on the rise and people actually fall for some of these.
Reminds me of the early 2000’s when there were automated messages of being involved in an accident. It did make me laugh though. I had a torn ACL and driving was out for months... but you’ve had an accident. Err no.. I can’t drive.. but you had your accident last week.. me: put the phone down.
It’s odd. Private number. Only two people with the number. Mum and brother. Still get the calls and messages though.
1. Renewed my TV license a month ago. Scam e-mails saying that I had underpaid and if I did not etc.
2. UK based mobile number automated message that there was a problem with my National Insurance...
3. Car is SORN. Lockdown. Various e-mails on tax being overdue.
4. Probably the most sophisticated one in appearance. One from the bank saying if I wanted to over-pay on my mortgage then I could make payment to... and the payment account details even looked closely matched... however, the e-mail address origin was gibberish...
Seems like keyboard warriors have had more time to sharpen their photoshop skills. Sad that it is on the rise and people actually fall for some of these.
Reminds me of the early 2000’s when there were automated messages of being involved in an accident. It did make me laugh though. I had a torn ACL and driving was out for months... but you’ve had an accident. Err no.. I can’t drive.. but you had your accident last week.. me: put the phone down.
It’s odd. Private number. Only two people with the number. Mum and brother. Still get the calls and messages though.
Definitely noticed an increase in recent months.
While I am now hardy to the plethora of oft-convincing yet clearly dodgy emails I receive (usually by way of strange sender IDs or blatant spelling mistakes from the likes of 'HMRC' or various 'banks'), I've personally been inundated, absolutely swamped, by friend requests and private messages on social media - from obvious fake profiles and the like. It's so tiresome!
Bots, no doubt. Lord knows what they actually want.
While I am now hardy to the plethora of oft-convincing yet clearly dodgy emails I receive (usually by way of strange sender IDs or blatant spelling mistakes from the likes of 'HMRC' or various 'banks'), I've personally been inundated, absolutely swamped, by friend requests and private messages on social media - from obvious fake profiles and the like. It's so tiresome!
Bots, no doubt. Lord knows what they actually want.
Super_G said:
In the span of a week:
1. Renewed my TV license a month ago. Scam e-mails saying that I had underpaid and if I did not etc.
2. UK based mobile number automated message that there was a problem with my National Insurance...
3. Car is SORN. Lockdown. Various e-mails on tax being overdue.
4. Probably the most sophisticated one in appearance. One from the bank saying if I wanted to over-pay on my mortgage then I could make payment to... and the payment account details even looked closely matched... however, the e-mail address origin was gibberish...
Seems like keyboard warriors have had more time to sharpen their photoshop skills. Sad that it is on the rise and people actually fall for some of these.
Reminds me of the early 2000’s when there were automated messages of being involved in an accident. It did make me laugh though. I had a torn ACL and driving was out for months... but you’ve had an accident. Err no.. I can’t drive.. but you had your accident last week.. me: put the phone down.
It’s odd. Private number. Only two people with the number. Mum and brother. Still get the calls and messages though.
Yes, Cyber Crime is at an all time high and getting more and more sophisticated. The IT Security industry is trying to keep up, but it's getting harder and harder. Covid has made things a lot easier for the crooks, million of workers who would be usually behind a expensive firewall devices are working from home using out of date hardware, hardware they share with their kids who download Minecraft skins or whatever from dodgy sites.1. Renewed my TV license a month ago. Scam e-mails saying that I had underpaid and if I did not etc.
2. UK based mobile number automated message that there was a problem with my National Insurance...
3. Car is SORN. Lockdown. Various e-mails on tax being overdue.
4. Probably the most sophisticated one in appearance. One from the bank saying if I wanted to over-pay on my mortgage then I could make payment to... and the payment account details even looked closely matched... however, the e-mail address origin was gibberish...
Seems like keyboard warriors have had more time to sharpen their photoshop skills. Sad that it is on the rise and people actually fall for some of these.
Reminds me of the early 2000’s when there were automated messages of being involved in an accident. It did make me laugh though. I had a torn ACL and driving was out for months... but you’ve had an accident. Err no.. I can’t drive.. but you had your accident last week.. me: put the phone down.
It’s odd. Private number. Only two people with the number. Mum and brother. Still get the calls and messages though.
For an industry used to a fast paced, ever changing landscape, the rate of chance is still staggering.
It's a numbers game for criminals, last week a client got taken for £25k of their own, hard earned money. Life savings gone to a not particularly complex scam involving a man in the middle hack and a bit of telephone confidence scam. One of those a month and you can live a Championship Footballer lifestyle and the risks of getting caught are tiny. I'd bet their scam will reach thousands of computers a day via one method or other, 99.9% of them will be knocked back by security software, of the .1% that get through most will be seen by people who'll see it for what it is, but a few will reach that right person, at the right time and they'll fall for it.
As for your 'private number' mobile firms have been re-issuing old numbers for a while now sadly.
Everyone is at home and now too comfortable with online purchases, people have let their guard drop, scammers sense easy targets
Loads of good advice online from the NCSC
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/information-for/in...
Loads of good advice online from the NCSC
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/information-for/in...
P-Jay said:
It's a numbers game for criminals, last week a client got taken for £25k of their own, hard earned money. Life savings gone to a not particularly complex scam involving a man in the middle hack and a bit of telephone confidence scam.
A mate from school posted up a worring tale at the weekend of how he nearly got duped out of a lot of money via a sophisticated call 'from his bank' which had a lot of his personal details right. They seem to be getting better.
I had good one last week. Shortly after 10am an email arrived saying your late for your Skype meeting. I thought I did have a meeting at 10 so opened the email and almost clicked on the convincing looking link. Then I thought hang on my 10 meeting was moved to 11 the day before. It was from a spoofed company email with logos etc and looked legit at first glance.
I have got to thinking everything is a scam until proven otherwise.
I wont engage when companies ring me and had over any details whatever, I will call them back on the number on their website.
The Amazon and Tax refund ones are comical but there are much more sophisticated ones out there and sometimes through coincidence as has been mention, it can lend credence to a particular scam.
Best to trust your gut feel, if there is a niggle, home in on it and get it straight before proceeding with anything.
And feel free to abuse the scammers that call, now I believe in being decent with anyone I meet but these
s want to take everything I own given half a chance, and I know what I would feel like if it happened so may as well get a dig in.
I wont engage when companies ring me and had over any details whatever, I will call them back on the number on their website.
The Amazon and Tax refund ones are comical but there are much more sophisticated ones out there and sometimes through coincidence as has been mention, it can lend credence to a particular scam.
Best to trust your gut feel, if there is a niggle, home in on it and get it straight before proceeding with anything.
And feel free to abuse the scammers that call, now I believe in being decent with anyone I meet but these
s want to take everything I own given half a chance, and I know what I would feel like if it happened so may as well get a dig in.Cybercrime and scams had been increasing year on year anyway, but COVID has actually provided the main reason for an even bigger increase.
There’s a lot of ‘digital debutantes’ caused by lockdown. People that would not have shopped or banked online before lockdown, but have now been forced to do more things online.
This presents a whole new market of victims to the fraudsters, and also ones who are more likely to fall for fraud.
Additionally more people are buying things online to make up for lockdown boredom and having more disposable income due to not going out and having things posted to them, again presenting more opportunities for them clicking on scam links saying their package has been delayed due to excess charges needing to be paid to Royal Mail, Hermes, dpd etc.
I was at a virtual fraud conference the other week, and all of the speakers said COVID was the cause of an increase in fraud they’d seen in one way or another. It’s a great opportunity for those without morals!
There’s a lot of ‘digital debutantes’ caused by lockdown. People that would not have shopped or banked online before lockdown, but have now been forced to do more things online.
This presents a whole new market of victims to the fraudsters, and also ones who are more likely to fall for fraud.
Additionally more people are buying things online to make up for lockdown boredom and having more disposable income due to not going out and having things posted to them, again presenting more opportunities for them clicking on scam links saying their package has been delayed due to excess charges needing to be paid to Royal Mail, Hermes, dpd etc.
I was at a virtual fraud conference the other week, and all of the speakers said COVID was the cause of an increase in fraud they’d seen in one way or another. It’s a great opportunity for those without morals!
CzechItOut said:
What email client do you use? I use Gmail and get none of this spam.
Same (touch wood).If you've had several scam email where the timing seems very co-incidental to things like tax and TV licence renewal, then I'd be looking at changing passwords and making sure two factor authentication is set.
Some scammers are getting lazy too, it used to be that they bought your details from somewhere and tried to make it look legit, but I saw a post on a Facebook group from someone saying they had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and didn't want to die with £400k in the bank, anyone who wants the cash should email them their details...
My wife has had the "Royal Mail" text for £2.99 to release your parcel scam. I'm on first name terms with the bird from Amazon Prime. I note with the Amazon one, that despite blocking the(landline) number the calls restart a few days later from a new number. Interestingly Amazon auto call thing is always within the same hour between 9am and 10am.
Worries me sick with my parents - it's OK for most people on here, we are generally very savvy with regard to these scammers.
When you're in your 80s and your faculties or reasoning is starting to fail, and you haven't grown up in this scamming online world it's a different matter. My dad is also a total shocker for taking what people say as absolute gospel (yet he won't believe a thing I ever tell him).
When you're in your 80s and your faculties or reasoning is starting to fail, and you haven't grown up in this scamming online world it's a different matter. My dad is also a total shocker for taking what people say as absolute gospel (yet he won't believe a thing I ever tell him).
Has anyone seen an increase in being called by unknown (to you) UK mobile numbers? I've been getting maybe 2 a week for the last 3-4 months. The first couple of times it happened I answered and it was the usual "I understand you've recently been in a car accident..." at which point I hung up; haven't answered any since on the assumption that if it is someone genuinely needing to speak to me they'll leave a voicemail - these numbers never leave a voicemail.
I'm getting several calls a day to the work landline and a couple a week on the work mobile. I tend to go between trolling and winding them up, to trying to engage them in conversation about the scam.
The lady mentioned in this trust pilot review has called twice in 18 months now. I read out one of the reviews to her, which described how the complainant would like to see her stripped and chased through the streets whilst pelted with rotten fruit. She wasn't best impressed!
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.san-lorenzo.c...
The lady mentioned in this trust pilot review has called twice in 18 months now. I read out one of the reviews to her, which described how the complainant would like to see her stripped and chased through the streets whilst pelted with rotten fruit. She wasn't best impressed!
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.san-lorenzo.c...
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