TSB Phone theft and fraud warning

JudgeDekker

Hi, there. Just a warning about a potential TSB data hack. I got a new business line phone number, and so far have only given that number to TSB last week. Today I got a call from a bank scammer, who had my name and phone number. Since they had my name as well as the number I think they must have got that by stealing the data from the TSB. I checked the number they called on online and it came up as a known fraud number that lots of other people have looked up as well: 0800 080 3242.

I couldn't find a fraud / scammers section of the forum, sorry.

eskbanker

Surely the telecoms provider concerned must also know your name and number?

colsten

Chances are that the scamsters just dialled your number randomly. They have software which generates phone numbers and dials them automatically. Some numbers ring, because they exist, others don't because they don't exist. Of those that ring, a small percentage is answered by people who still fall for scams, so their number will end up on various suckers lists. You are unlikely to be on any of those lists as you have not fallen for their spiel.

As to the number that rang you: it is almost certainly a spoofed number which they change regularly. The actual scamster operation is likely to be based somewhere abroad - Russia, India, other far East countries etc. - so they won't have a real UK number.

JudgeDekker

colsten said:

Chances are that the scamsters just dialled your number randomly. They have software which generates phone numbers and dials them automatically. Some numbers ring, because they exist, others don't because they don't exist. Of those that ring, a small percentage is answered by people who still fall for scams, so their number will end up on various suckers lists. You are unlikely to be on any of those lists as you have not fallen for their spiel.

As to the number that rang you: it is almost certainly a spoofed number which they change regularly. The actual scamster operation is likely to be based somewhere abroad - Russia, India, other far East countries etc. - so they won't have a real UK number.

The fact that they knew my name made me think it wasn't random. The phone is in someone else's name, so it couldn't have been the phone provider.

But I think I know what's happened. I checked on the TSB website, and the number that I have given them just for security to receive one-time-passwords (because they required me to) - they had automatically defaulted it to 'Happy to receive marketing calls on that number'. So presumably they sold my number on to a marketing company. Better that it's typical slimy bank bad behaviour rather than a data hack, I guess. Stupid of me to let my guard down when speaking to a bank.

WillPS

I very much doubt TSB would sell your personal information to a company which has a side-line in committing fraud (against them!).

noh

It was most likely a customer survey call from a company called Motif on behalf of TSB.

https://www.shouldianswer.co.uk/phone-number/08000803242
https://thisismotif.com/have-you-been-contacted-by-us