scam phone and email from USA

masonic

sharescamadviser1 said:

May 2024
(We were contacted by phone) (from the US) with an offer to buy Iberdrola shares. It all seemed very genuine. There was a website meridiangrpllc.com*, supposedly a law firm, and we were sent a non-disclosure agreement to sign because the (take-over was to be kept quiet).  Calls had a number registered and it was a US number.  We became more suspicious when they were phoning every evening to chase us and I couldn't find any other info on this company or its employees, except the website.  I only really found out for sure by searching online looking on mse forum and seeing similar stories.  Reported to NCSC (gov cyber security) so please do the same for scams.

Highlighted the initial red flags that this was a scam that would have enabled you to dismiss this on day one. Caller ID is also meaningless, so should be treated as "what the caller wants us to see" only.

* Website first registered on: 2024-03-15

gravel_2

Also... https://www.fca.org.uk/news/warnings/meridian-group-llc

thegreenone

Buy a call-blocker phone. 

Callers have to announce themselves, when you hear who it is (if they announce themselves) you can press 1 to take the call; 2 to send to answerphone or 3 to block.   Most computer generated calls drop off pretty quickly.

An aside:  we bought one for my elderly Mum.  In the first six weeks, it stopped 54 scam calls.

DiamondLil

thegreenone said:

Buy a call-blocker phone. 

Callers have to announce themselves, when you hear who it is (if they announce themselves) you can press 1 to take the call; 2 to send to answerphone or 3 to block.   Most computer generated calls drop off pretty quickly.

An aside:  we bought one for my elderly Mum.  In the first six weeks, it stopped 54 scam calls.

I second this; we bought one of these after suffering weeks of nuisance calls, all times day and night. We now enjoy blissful silence.

cndawes

sharescamadviser1 said:

May 2024
We were contacted by phone from the US with an offer to buy Iberdrola shares. It all seemed very genuine. There was a website meridiangrpllc.com, supposedly a law firm, and we were sent a non-disclosure agreement to sign because the take-over was to be kept quiet.  Calls had a number registered and it was a US number.  We became more suspicious when they were phoning every evening to chase us and I couldn't find any other info on this company or its employees, except the website.  I only really found out for sure by searching online looking on mse forum and seeing similar stories.  Reported to NCSC (gov cyber security) so please do the same for scams.

This scam is still active. My father-in-law was called this week with it. Got as far as him giving out his email to be emailed an pdf 'NDA' that he opened to look at. All deleted and blocked now and computer checked and reminder to beware and not to open attachments.

jaypers

If only everyone could take the stance from the first instance of anyone contacting them that they are talking to a criminal (I avoid the word scammer, as these people are criminals). Unfortunately we are in a world where the majority of unsolicited contact (phone, email, text etc) is illegitimate and attempt at theft.