Have I given too much info to scammer?

Albermarle

sparkiemalarkie said:

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions.
I have scanned my laptop, and in the process of changing all of my passwords.
I have blocked the number with our call blocker
and I have learnt my lesson......

I'm normally very savvy..... but as mentioned in some of the posts above, I was running late.
I had just picked up my handbag and striding towards the front door and my OH answered the phone...he handed it to me saying it was an important call about my BT shares...
I wasn't concentrating and time was ticking on... to speed things up I gave my email address and cut them off saying I had to go.
The email arrived before I returned home but I didn't see it.
I had a second phone call from the same scammer while I was cooking dinner and she was encouraging me to go and open the email  and print out the paper work while she was on the phone...but all this had to be done in secret!
I don't do emails at meal times so I said I would take a look later.....
It wasn't until this point that I started to get suspicious.

I'm pretty sure that no harm is done...
Hopefully I've learnt a bit 

sx

Also never respond to any adverts on Facebook or similar regarding any finance issue.

Nebulous2

Daliah said:

I haven't used my landline in years, and people who I want to talk to know that I prefer to be contacted on my mobile, not least because I don't give out my landline number any longer. The landline is on voicemail, it occasionally rings but nobody leaves any message, so it can't have been anything important or urgent. My mobile is set up so calls from unknown numbers all go to voicemail without ringing. There have been quite a few callers on the mobile who didn't leave a message - again, it can't have been anything important or urgent, and most probably was a scammer, or some salesperson trying to sell me an allegedly cheaper broadband or mobile contract.

However, spoofed numbers do ring if they are in my contact list as genuine companies. I recently had one from "Santander", where I have accounts, and it took me a couple of minutes before I began to be suspicious. The guy was very convincing, professional and spoke perfect Queen's English but he was just an evil scammer, and I told him so. Not that he would care, as he'll just try it on with others.

I've taken it a stage further, and I've simply unplugged the landline. We moved house last year, and I don't think I've given anyone my new landline number - so no-one knows it except Vodafone. I do have an elderly relative who doesn't like it and wont call my mobile, but he calls my mother if he wants to speak to me and I get back to him. 

John464

I've had a couple of calls from unknown numbers saying they are from BT.  I assumed they were scammers and hung up.  But it turned out they really were working for BT.  But they were only trying to sell me BT Sport or something else I don't want.  So nothing lost there.

eskbanker

John464 said:

The problem we have is that our antiquated phone network relies on information in the call itself to tell it what number it is coming from.  Information the scammers can put in themself.  A technical solution to this would be very costly - who is going to oversee it and pay for it?  That could be another absurdly expensive catastrophe on the scale of PPE/Eat out to spread it around/bounceback loan etc fraud.  So we just have to make the best of the network as it is.  By being our own call blocker.

The antiquated network (PSTN) is due to be replaced by the VOIP-based digital version by the end of 2025, which will enable improved authentication to eliminate (or at least hinder) unauthorised number spoofing, with some Ofcom-initiated controls in the interim:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2022/crackdown-on-fake-number-fraud

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2021/upgrading-landlines-to-digital-technology