Beware this on-line scam | PASOTI
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Beware this on-line scam

I think it’s good to share details of new scams if it helps others avoid falling for them.

An hour ago we received an e mail apparently from Hermes, claiming they’d tried and failed to make a parcel delivery. You’re then invited to pay a mere £1.49 for a re-delivery, having given your card details of course. The Hermes web site they’ve created looks utterly convincing, and given that most of us are constantly awaiting a parcel delivery nowadays, then I’m sure it will hook a large number.
 
Jan 17, 2017
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Bovey Tracey
There have been a lot of similar texts claiming to be from Royal Mail on a similar vein.

Scammers seem to be pushing at the moment.
 

davie nine

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Jan 23, 2015
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mervyn":3nvdvah6 said:
I think it’s good to share details of new scams if it helps others avoid falling for them.

An hour ago we received an e mail apparently from Hermes, claiming they’d tried and failed to make a parcel delivery. You’re then invited to pay a mere £1.49 for a re-delivery, having given your card details of course. The Hermes web site they’ve created looks utterly convincing, and given that most of us are constantly awaiting a parcel delivery nowadays, then I’m sure it will hook a large number.
Perhaps, it would be a good idea for Pasoti to have a scams forum.
There are, certainly, a lot about and an early warning system may help people to realise the cruel and horrible attempts that are being made to, fraudulently, obtain bank details etc.
 
davie nine":3oiny4dp said:
mervyn":3oiny4dp said:
I think it’s good to share details of new scams if it helps others avoid falling for them.

An hour ago we received an e mail apparently from Hermes, claiming they’d tried and failed to make a parcel delivery. You’re then invited to pay a mere £1.49 for a re-delivery, having given your card details of course. The Hermes web site they’ve created looks utterly convincing, and given that most of us are constantly awaiting a parcel delivery nowadays, then I’m sure it will hook a large number.
Perhaps, it would be a good idea for Pasoti to have a scams forum.
There are, certainly, a lot about and an early warning system may help people to realise the cruel and horrible attempts that are being made to, fraudulently, obtain bank details etc.

Good idea. A sort of on-line neighbourhood watch.
 

GreenThing

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The clever bit about this scam is that they don’t use your card details to get money. Once you’ve paid the nominal amount, you’ll then get a phone call from the fraud department from your bank, it’s not your bank, but they have cloned the telephone number shown on your card so it looks legitimate. They then tell you they’ve opened another, safe account and get you to transfer all your money into it. As you’ve transferred the money, your bank is not obliged to refund you.
 

Pogleswoody

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I understand that people can be scammed but why would you pay an 'extra' fee to get something delivered when delivery has already been paid for (either by you or the vendor)?

Good idea to have a way to help people out tho'.
 

GreenThing

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Pogleswoody":78m6q2l9 said:
I understand that people can be scammed but why would you pay an 'extra' fee to get something delivered when delivery has already been paid for (either by you or the vendor)?

Good idea to have a way to help people out tho'.

Now that parcels from the EU are subject to import duty or the like, it’ll become the norm to have to pay a fee upon delivery.
 

Lousy Pint

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Sep 23, 2005
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Thanks Mervyn. I just received a text message from Hermes and opened it, as I am expecting a parcel. They did indeed want an extra £1.49 or similar. Then I recalled your OP and thought I'd better check here.

No damage done and text deleted. :thumbs:
 

Lousy Pint

Jam First
Sep 23, 2005
2,043
903
Milano
Had a call this morning. It was a recorded message purporting to be from the National Crime Agency. It said my NI number was being revoked because it had been used in a number of crimes.

I haven't even been in the country since last August and even longer since I committed any crimes!! So I hung up at that point.

If anyone needs to know the number, send me a PM.
 
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Aug 17, 2005
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When u recieve them don't only delete them but block the number. Don't send any sort of text back to the number telling them where to go because they know then they have hit an active number and will attempt a different way to scam you
 

Quinny

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Jul 15, 2006
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I'm a suspicious barsteward. I work on the assumption that every single email / phone call / text I receive which says that there's a missed package or that I have to "follow a link" to do x, y, or z is a fake and I delete it.
 
Another new one this morning. A very kosher looking e mail from Paypal advising that my old credit card had expired, and please enter details of the new one. What was clever was their knowledge of the last 4 digits of my card, plus a totally plausible layout with masses of terms and conditions. Checked, and most definitely a scam.
 
Dec 30, 2004
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Brighton
I have to say, having been online since the early nineties, and having had countless business email addresses and a personal Hotmail account for about the same length of time, I - and my business - have received thousands upon thousands of scam emails over the years.

Here's a top tip: hover the cursor over email addresses and any links in the email body (don't click!) and the true address will be revealed. (If you're using a web-based email service, that address will be down at the bottom left of the browser screen in the case of web links in emails - that's actually the case for all browser links, legit or otherwise, which the scammers know most people don't notice.) For example, right now in my Hotmail spam I have an email from "The United Nations" but a hover reveals a gmail account. Don't think so! I'm not going to open the email but I can guarantee that all links will have a great big string of garbage.com with no connection whatsoever to the UN - and quite possibly a malicious .exe file that automatically downloads and infects the computer as soon as the link is opened.

This hovering only works for desktops/laptops that use a mouse/track pad and cursor but you can achieve the same thing on phones/tablets by pressing down and holding the link (not the usual brief tap): it won't open but it will display.
 
Mar 11, 2011
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If anyone is interested, you can sign up for Which? scam alerts here:

https://campaigns.which.co.uk/scam-aler ... gKYL_D_BwE

Yes, I know I am posting a link on a thread that is in part about dodgy links but do what MickyD suggests if you don’t trust me!

You don’t have to be Which? member, they are free, you can unsubscribe at any time and they won’t pass your details onto anyone else. You won’t be bombarded with emails either, you just get one a week.

I’ve found them quite useful. I normally hear about any new scams first from them. There is an update on the ‘National Crime Agency’/NI number scam on the above link at the moment.
 

Frank Butcher

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There is no doubt that these scams are becoming more sophisticated and more believeable. One more recent example I came across was where an individual had exploited someone's professional social media account. From there, they acticated a number of chat conversations which were friendly at first, ultimately sharing a malicious embedded link. Unsuspecting victims were completely oblivious because they believed the information had come from trusted contact (in this case the exploited account).

I have a similar policy to Quinny - if it's unsolicited I ignore it. If it's subsequently genuine they will find other means to contact you.

One other tip for those that are unaware, you can check whether your email address or phone number have been involved in a data breach/leak (typically mass exploits of sites that have occured in the past). The 'have I been pwned' site was shared with me by a security expert a few years ago and is referenced by Which. Rather than share the website address you can check yourselves on its authenticity via Which:
https://computing.which.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/115005168849-What-to-do-if-you-ve-been-pwned
And no, this is not a phishing test :angel: . If by now your nerves are shot about clicking that link, go to Which and search out the article yourself.

If you have been pwned, their site will tell you which exploits you have been victim to - and there's a fair chance you won't even be aware that you have been. If so, clearly change passwords etc. (which of course you have all been doing regularly anyway :think: ), but note you may also be subject to more spam as a result.