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Just had a call allegedly HMRC , cut it off due to them having a American accent ,checked online it’s the latest scam going the rounds be aware as a phone call rather than a e.mail can catch you out ..
Andrew old chap , I’m 76 I have been retired for 12 years +. There is absolutely no reason for them to contact me . Plus it wasn’t a person it was a recorded message .. which if you Google it is how the scam works .. and I don’t think HMRC employs many AmericansMy wife has just told me that she once had a genuine call from HMRC to confirm a point. They quoted the correct reference for the matter and only asked her to respond yes or no to their questions.
I wasn't disagreeing with you - just mentioning that my wife had a call which turned out to be genuine and how the genuine call proceeded.Andrew old chap , I’m 76 I have been retired for 12 years +. There is absolutely no reason for them to contact me . Plus it wasn’t a person it was a recorded message .. which if you Google it is how the scam works .. and I don’t think HMRC employs many Americans
Perhaps I should have explained that the call to my wife was about VAT, so HMRC did have the phone number.How would HMRC get your phone number?
Its not on a P45/P46, on your P60 or any other documentation you provide so any call purporting to be from HMRC will be false - unless you have an ongoing issue and its a return call.
Id put that under ongoing issue, for the vast majority there would never be a call from HMRCPerhaps I should have explained that the call to my wife was about VAT, so HMRC did have the phone number.
I know it's veering off-topic but I would be interested to know what phone you have?Since replacing my phone with a call blocking type, no scam call has got through. Because they will not be on my personal phone list, the caller is asked to state who they are. My phone then rings and the telephone voice tell me that there is an announced call and I then hear a recording of their reply and given three choices; 1 the call is put through, 2 the call is transferred to the recorded message system or 3 the number is permanently blocked. No scammer has left a name or even tried to get through; I guess they will choose easier options. There have been several occasions when it was a foreign sounding name but I went ahead to find it was a medical contact. It would help if they used specific numbers which could be added to the directory.
Dave
Since replacing my phone with a call blocking type, no scam call has got through
Chris I have a BT Advanced Cordless Phone Trio (item code 090640) which uses a True Call virtual Assistant. You do need to have caller ID which is a service we have had for many years. It was 12 months ago I bought this model so it is probably superseded by now. I believe it is based on BT's True Call virtual Assistant software which may be included in some other brands as well and I think you can also pay for this service from BT direct for a fee. As far as I could see a trio of DECT phones with Answer Phone seems to cost about the same whether or not it includes True Call virtual Assistant. We are on Virginmedia so you do not have to use BT to use this phone.I know it's veering off-topic but I would be interested to know what phone you have?
I had a text on Monday saying I’d allegedly been in close proximity to someone with Covid. The link in the text took me to a quite authentic looking NHS site where I could order a free test, just needing to pay £1.99 for p&p. Obviously I didn’t go any further but I wonder how many people get caught? Presumably once you’ve submitted your card details to pay, then you’ve given all your details to scammers. None of the links within that site worked, like the menu, “contact us” etc. so it’s obviously a scam site but it looked quite convincing.In the past you would get a lot of calls where often when you answered there would be no-one on the other end and then you would here a disconnect click. apparently a computer would dial a block of sequential numbers at once and the person/the computer would connect to the first one that answered. I havent had that for a good number of years now.
Then it seemed to move onto getting a call and what sounded almost human but had a pre-recorded air to it where I would be introduced to a person and asked how my day was going, if you didnt say anything it would move one with the next line of the script quite often telling you your car had been in an accident. Quite often you would get the same number calling so I had a contact called Crap and saved every number to this. I ended up with 3 Crap contacts worth and it was amusing when Crap1, 2 or 3 called.
Annoyingly they started using mobile numbers and random ones so you would get the same call several times in a row from different numbers
Since registering my mobile with the preferential phone service i get very few cold calls, its more text messages now.
Randomly Monday around 5pm I got a text from GP surgery saying they wanted to hear feedback on their service, I havnt been in 5 years. I always click the caller/email Id to see who is calling emailing - quite often I get " HSBC" email me from XXXX@hotmail.com. On this text there was no contact number. next day I got a similar text from NHS asking to update my records with an email address. Again no contact number, wasnt planning to respond to either but coincidence that both text within 24 hours?
I had one of these calls on my mobile some three years ago. I told them that I found it very interesting as I was a detective sergeant employed by Thames Valley Police. The line immediately went dead and perhaps it's coincidence, but I have never such a call since.I had one a year ago informing me that a warrant was being issued for my arrest due some money I owed
I needed to ring some number and pay immediately, no I didn't