I hear the TV Licencing scammers are now offering to each "Dear BBC customer" a "95% saving" on yearly subscriptions. It's a "Limited Offer", so let's all hurry up and apply...NOT!
PLEASE
BE VIGILANT OF SCAMMERS - last night I am ashamed to say I was scammed by some
absolutely evil (insert highly offensive word here). This is a long post
because I am hoping the detail will help others. About 10 minutes or so after I
posted on here that my lovely cat went
missing I got the below call: ( btw I feel very stupid, I’m now a lot of money
down but more importantly I’m even more heart broken) - call from someone
saying they were RSPCA and they wanted to speak to me about my cat and they had
a few questions.
- they
then continued to ask about the description of the cat to check if the one they
had was mine. Any specifics features. Were they microchipped? What breed and
sex? Neutered?
- after answering these they said they have
good news they think they have my cat and can I confirm the last 4 digits of his
microchip. I did and initially I got them wrong and how I wish I didn’t correct
myself as it would have shown a flaw in their plan potentially.
- once confirmed with the right four digits
they confirmed the match and said had he had any issues in the past with his
ear as he has an infection. I said the odd scratch to which they said they
think he’s been in a scuffle and he’s been treated for it but has an infection
so he’s going to need to have meds daily.
- I was crying and shaking through all of this
and so was my mate who was with me at the thought of finding my cat.
-
anyways they said I needed to send a payment for the meds etc of 238.69 or
something. I went to grab my card and I gave the number and soon after the app
was asking to be authorised.
- talked
about different types of trackers for cats from GPS and how they’re better that
an air tag etc. (again another thing I think was to assist convincing me) - the
guy over the phone told me that it was going to say galaxy transfer on the
request and a code. I queried how do I know this is the RSPCA and wish I stuck
to my guns but the answers to my questions were very convincing and he clearly
played on how I was feeling.
- at one
point the phone cut off and he called straight back. We thought why would a
scammer call back when you’ve already started to suss it out but then was that
part of being convincing??? Probably.
-I asked
for his name and he said ‘Nigel Adam’s’ and again confirmed he was from the
local RSPCA but said he was with my cat at my usual vets and got the name right
etc I stupidly pressed approve on the app
- he
then said I’ll receive a text message and I need to confirm it to receive the
digital receipt. And this is where I pulled the plug… the message arrived and
looked like it was from HSBC. Though on reflection it said HSBCUKPASCD and that
is not what normal HSBC texts say at the top. So please look out for that in
any scam.
- he
told me it would say about don’t share it with staff and not to worry but it
also says police and by this time I’d calmed down from crying and my brain
switched back onto this is dodgy. So I refused to send it.
- he
said fair enough if you’d rather come down and sort it, it will take longer to
process but they can let us pick up the cat at 7pm. I queried this as normally
vets were closed but I didn’t know if it was actually possible to pick up after
the shop closed in an out of hours. He told us where to meet them. And by this
time we still went to see if someone would actually turn up
- scam
or not! Of course I have spoken to my bank, the vets, the microchip company,
etc and it is all a scam but I hope by posting this here you get a very good
idea of the hellish people that are out there preying on peoples feelings while
they’re in a vulnerable state. I dread to think of how many more people get
done in this way or similar and hope karma comes back around for them.
Posts
Todays Email Scam. Never heard of Sam's Club and certainly never bought anything from them.
You got (5) packages pending for delivery. Use your code to track and receive it
🎉🏆💰 You're Today's Lucky Winner of a $5000 Sam's Club Cash Card!
Sorry about the Bold italics.Hi Helen
Advance fee scammers want your money. They'll try and get you to pay upfront for something that's not real.
They try to trick you into:
paying a fee to release money from an investment
paying a recovery fee to get back money lost in a previous scam
paying an admin fee to release lottery winnings or loan funds
paying an upfront fee before you start a new job.
How can you protect yourself?
Avoid paying upfront. Only do this if you're certain it's genuine.
Don't pay money to an employer before you sign a contract.
Use legitimate companies when applying for credit. Avoid companies that ask for an admin fee to release funds.
Read independent reviews and complete checks to make sure the company exists.
Don't feel pressured into paying quickly for anything.
PLEASE BE VIGILANT OF SCAMMERS - last night I am ashamed to say I was scammed by some absolutely evil (insert highly offensive word here). This is a long post because I am hoping the detail will help others. About 10 minutes or so after I posted on here that my lovely cat went missing I got the below call: ( btw I feel very stupid, I’m now a lot of money down but more importantly I’m even more heart broken) - call from someone saying they were RSPCA and they wanted to speak to me about my cat and they had a few questions.
- they then continued to ask about the description of the cat to check if the one they had was mine. Any specifics features. Were they microchipped? What breed and sex? Neutered?
- after answering these they said they have good news they think they have my cat and can I confirm the last 4 digits of his microchip. I did and initially I got them wrong and how I wish I didn’t correct myself as it would have shown a flaw in their plan potentially.
- once confirmed with the right four digits they confirmed the match and said had he had any issues in the past with his ear as he has an infection. I said the odd scratch to which they said they think he’s been in a scuffle and he’s been treated for it but has an infection so he’s going to need to have meds daily.
- I was crying and shaking through all of this and so was my mate who was with me at the thought of finding my cat.
- anyways they said I needed to send a payment for the meds etc of 238.69 or something. I went to grab my card and I gave the number and soon after the app was asking to be authorised.
- talked about different types of trackers for cats from GPS and how they’re better that an air tag etc. (again another thing I think was to assist convincing me) - the guy over the phone told me that it was going to say galaxy transfer on the request and a code. I queried how do I know this is the RSPCA and wish I stuck to my guns but the answers to my questions were very convincing and he clearly played on how I was feeling.
- at one point the phone cut off and he called straight back. We thought why would a scammer call back when you’ve already started to suss it out but then was that part of being convincing??? Probably.
-I asked for his name and he said ‘Nigel Adam’s’ and again confirmed he was from the local RSPCA but said he was with my cat at my usual vets and got the name right etc I stupidly pressed approve on the app
- he then said I’ll receive a text message and I need to confirm it to receive the digital receipt. And this is where I pulled the plug… the message arrived and looked like it was from HSBC. Though on reflection it said HSBCUKPASCD and that is not what normal HSBC texts say at the top. So please look out for that in any scam.
- he told me it would say about don’t share it with staff and not to worry but it also says police and by this time I’d calmed down from crying and my brain switched back onto this is dodgy. So I refused to send it.
- he said fair enough if you’d rather come down and sort it, it will take longer to process but they can let us pick up the cat at 7pm. I queried this as normally vets were closed but I didn’t know if it was actually possible to pick up after the shop closed in an out of hours. He told us where to meet them. And by this time we still went to see if someone would actually turn up
- scam or not! Of course I have spoken to my bank, the vets, the microchip company, etc and it is all a scam but I hope by posting this here you get a very good idea of the hellish people that are out there preying on peoples feelings while they’re in a vulnerable state. I dread to think of how many more people get done in this way or similar and hope karma comes back around for them.
I have a dream that my.. children.. one day.. will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character
Martin Luther King