The owners of lost pets are the latest group of people to be targeted by scam artists on the Isle of Wight, the local authority is warning.
The Isle of Wight Council were last week contacted by a resident who had lost his cat and reported it on various lost pet websites. He explained that he received a phone call from a gentleman who told him that the cat had been found, had received X-rays and had been checked over by a vet. He asked where he could collect the cat from and was told he had to make a payment first and to give his bank details.
Thinking this was strange he asked for the name and address of the vet so he could contact them himself at which point the caller got very defensive and put him on hold for 6 minutes whilst he ‘talked to the vet’.
This is believed to be a scam with his information being harvested from one of the lost pet sites. This is very likely to be an attempt at a scam – preying on somebody who had lost a beloved family pet.
Residents are being warned against a new ‘vishing’ email scam. The email appears to come from big name brands – such as Amazon or Paypal – and claim that a large purchase has just been made on the victim’s account.
The email appears to use official fonts and logos. It also contains no easy way of stopping the purchase from going through, with the only option to cancel things by calling a telephone number.
There is also a message that reads, “If you didn’t make this purchase, please call us”. Anyone tricked into dialling the contact details will then be put through to a real person on the other end of the phone. The person will be a scammer, who will try and steal as much information as possible including account names, passwords and bank details.
A couple of scams targeting Island businesses have been reported. Callers purport to be from the High Court Enforcement and claim there is a CCJ against your company.
The scammers are calling from a mobile and the caller very vague around any information – due to GDPR. This is highly likely to be a scam aimed to intimidate businesses into paying money or handing over banking details. Do not respond, hang up straight away – no legitimate organisation would contact you in this way.
Another potential scam is calls from companies that want you to advertise in their brochure. They quite often claim to be providing a service such as working to prevent crime and make the Island a safer place.
These brochures very often don’t exist and your ‘advert’ will go nowhere. Don’t engage with anyone that contacts you to promote something – take a step away and time to think.
Reporting a Scam
For advice on scams call – Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline: 0808 250 5050
To report a scam call – Action Fraud: 0300 123 2040
If you are concerned about somebody you care about or for more information on scams visit www.iwasp.org.uk.
Amazon/Ebay/PayPal scams can be devastating. They can combine sevaral scams into one, mainly refund where they ‘refund’ you too much money and tech support where they remove the ‘hackers’ and ‘secure’ your computer. You can have your ank accounts emptied, identity stolen and have access to your computer sold on to other scammers who will come back for more.
Education is the best way not to fall for these and similar scams. To see how they work seach Youtube for Scamazon, there are plenty of examples of the scam in action, mainly from the US. The channels by Jim Brownig and Dan Gleeballs from the UK are good eduactional examples.