Latest telephone scam

[Anonymous]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 19/07/2022 05:19:34:

O.K. __ it looks like I was wrong

I await enlightenment …

No problem, Michael the link was interesting. I too await enlightenment.

It isn't really a problem for me personally – just a nuisance – but my wife has…. ahem …. memory problems and also cannot not-answer a ringing phone. I do worry that she'll press a button if told to.

I might give my phone-service carrier a call and see if they can shed any light (a sub tier carrier and more approachable – not to mention more knowledgeable – than the major phone company, Bell Canada).

[Swarf, Mostly!Participant @swarfmostly]

Good morning, all,

Our telephone rang this morning.

The caller, who sounded like Peter Sellers in 'Goodness, gracious me' mode, claimed to be calling from Virgin Media to tell me that our internet connection was about to be cut off.

(In our area, the Virgin Media phone numbers all start with a '3', I guess that's how he knew. )

I asked him what account number he thought he was calling.

He rang off!

Simples.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

[Anonymous]

Posted by Swarf, Mostly! on 19/08/2022 10:28:28:

Simples.

Pardon my ignorance but I see this a lot. Does it just mean "simple" ?

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Peter Greene 🇨🇦 on 19/08/2022 18:53:13:

Posted by Swarf, Mostly! on 19/08/2022 10:28:28:

Simples.

Pardon my ignorance but I see this a lot. Does it just mean "simple" ?

It does. The word comes from a series of utterly ridiculous TV adverts, where a bunch of puppet meerkats sell a 'Compare the Market' service. They sell the idea that choosing car insurance is simple, which it is as long as you don't bother reading the small print!

The only benefit of the war in Ukraine is these horrible creatures have been removed because all things Russian are poo at the moment.

Although Meerkats look cute they eat their young. Despite that much loved by everyone unable to cope with the awful complexities of modern life. Everything should be simples, innit.

Bet if you start sayings 'simples' in Canada, it will catch on and take less than a month to reach Miami…

Dave

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Posted by Swarf, Mostly! on 19/08/2022 10:28:28:

Good morning, all,

Our telephone rang this morning.

The caller, who sounded like Peter Sellers in 'Goodness, gracious me' mode, claimed to be calling from Virgin Media to tell me that our internet connection was about to be cut off.

(In our area, the Virgin Media phone numbers all start with a '3', I guess that's how he knew. )

I asked him what account number he thought he was calling.

He rang off!

When the fiber cable were installed many years ago for some reason they didnt come up our cul de sac so when Im in the mood let let the broadband guys try and sell it to me spending considerable time trying to work out why there are 6 houses not on their list

H

Simples.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

[Neil LickfoldParticipant @neillickfold44316]

The latest scam call I put them on speaker phone and just let them talk. They realise I am not paying attention, and say are you there and such, then I said, yeah. I interrupt and say yes, I need a laptop, how much are your ones. Then gone. They are still in the model of trying to get credit card details for fixing laptops with internet connection issues. The irony of it all, is our land line goes through the fibre and we have no copper wired connection, so no internet no phone. The other one is pretending to be from a bank, and that they have stopped the card due to fraudulent activity being discovered. They then say that they need to confirm your identity before proceeding, even though they have called you. They have done some basic research and knew our old address, from an old phonebook listing no doubt. She corrected them with the new address. They asked her to check the account online. Then when my wife said that she can not see any such transactions, they ask her to confirm the account number that she is looking at. Then they convincingly say, that it will most likely not show up until the next day as the accounts are updated over night. They then asked her to confirm the card number, and I wrote down scam, and said tell them the wrong 3 digit numbers, and password. She had already gone too far when I realised what was happening. The phone number was from Auckland it seemed. We provided this to the bank bank, after I disconnected the call to my wifes discuss. She thought they really were the bank. So we called our branch and got the card cancelled, and have a new card with a whole new number on the account and on the card too. While on the phone to the real bank, a transaction for $990 was going through. The scammers keeping under the 1k level of alert. The number we saw, was actually offshore , we did not get to find out where. The new card was retained by the branch, and she needed the whole 9 yards of proof to collect it and sign for it at the counter. I noticed that with our online banking now is a warning that if anyone is calling and requiring you to go and log into your online account, it is a scam. They did not need the last 3 digits to try and get money from  the card, nor did they need pin number.

 

Edited By Neil Lickfold on 19/08/2022 23:48:12

[Anonymous]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 19/08/2022 19:10:25:

The only benefit of the war in Ukraine is these horrible creatures have been removed

Ah …. the wrong is ended but the felony lingers on ….

Thanks, Dave.

[Author]

Posts