Latest telephone scam

Scarpetta

I got a call yesterday morning from and asian gentleman telling me that £800 had been taken out of my Lloyds account by someone in Pakistan. I was asked if I had authorised it or if I knew anyone in that part of the world. When I answered No he said that I had to call the fraud squad on 0207 1930009 immediately. He went on to say that Mr B ***** (my father in law)'s account had also been targeted and I needed to get him to call the same number. I said ok and put the phone down.

Please appreciate that I had only just woken up and wasn't really thinking straight.

I came off the phone and realised that there is no way that they should know about my father in law as the accounts are not linked in any way. Also why would I call the fraud squad when I needed to check with my bank?

4 Minutes later the phone rang again and I was asked by the same man if I had called yet. I said no as I was going to speak to my bank. He said that I must call the fraud squad immediately otherwise I would not get my money back. At which point I put the phone down again.

I got my pc up and running and immediately checked my account online, which needless to say was fine! The phone rang again... 'had I called the number yet?' I said no and I wasn't intending to as I wanted to speak to my bank and I was checking that the number he had given me was legitimate. He put the phone down this time!

5 minutes later ... I kid you not.... the phone rang again (all calls came up as international) this time it was just dead air. No problem it's their bill. In the mean time I called the bank and reported it. They said that it was not the first call they had had that day and were expecting more. I was asked then to report it to the police. Which I did.

What worries me more is that at the same time my 82 year old father in law who has dementia was also getting the calls. He panicked but as luck would have it didn't write down the number and called me instead. We called his branch and found that his account was fine. This was also reported to the Police.

I apologise for the length of this message it's just that I think it's really important that the more people who know about this new scam the better. I have no idea what would have happened had I called that number (Lloyds did it for me but it rang out).
I suspect that I would have been asked for bank details etc. and then found out I was £800 poorer.

What also concerns me is that the ONLY way they could have linked the 2 names is via the Tesco online delivery website. I do his shopping for him online and occasionally mine too. The majority of those who use that service I suspect will be those who can't leave their home easily or who need help with the shopping, so I suspect they will be elderly and therefore easier targets.

Please let anyone you know who might use Tesco's delivery or you feel might be a target for this sort of scam to be very careful and never give out details. If they are from the bank then they should already have that information. And please please please report to the police on 101 - the Avon and Somerset police are already compiling a file on this scam and all information will help hopefully catch the blighters (I would write something else but would probably get into trouble for it!)

Thanks for reading.

sillygoose

Do you do your Tesco shopping and your Father in Laws from the same PC?

I would check out your PC very carefully for infection or Malware which may be sending the scammer information you have put in or even given them a back door into your PC!

whitelabel

as above

check your pc with malwarebytes its free
you can download here
http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html