I find this almost certainly a Scam very concering

anotherquestion

Hi folks,

On a short break and had a call to my What's app, the caller with a very authentic UK accent told me that there was a transaction of £700 on my First Direct card ( I actually haven't had one for years) passed me over to a manager who enquired about my Barclays account as well and what balances (I do have a Barclays credit card)

Yet again a perfect UK accent. What is concerning is they wanted me to click on middle of phone screen possibility to accept the video call that they had started. It was only when I asked what mame was on the account that they hung up. What I find really concerning is that 1 they are more likely than not to be using AI tools to create an authentic UK accent that is really convincing and 2 the purpose of a video call is to get a good video of the person so that with the use of AI they may be able to circumvent Bank Biometrics, those with a more techie mind than myself, maybe can assure me that this is not possible.

Isthisforreal99

No bank is going to Whatsapp call you in the first place so why even answer it?

First rule should be don't answer unknown numbers.

flaneurs_lobster

Not sure why having an authentic UK accent needs the intervention of AI.

I'm given to understand that some fraudsters are actually homegrown and come by that accent unaided.

Woodstok2000

A British accent at my bank would be a dead cert giveaway of a scam call. Filipino or South African on the other hand.....

anotherquestion

Seems this is what they were up to, as they asked me to click middle of screen. Here is exactly what they were trying to do to you:1. The Screen Sharing Scam (Most Likely)WhatsApp has a feature that allows you to share your phone's screen with the person on the other end. To turn it on during a call, you have to tap the middle of the screen to bring up the menu, and then click the "Share Screen" icon (which looks like a phone with an arrow). 

1If they could trick you into clicking that icon, they would instantly see a live broadcast of your phone. They would then pressure you to open your banking app, check a text message, or log into an account under the guise of "fixing an error" or "verifying your identity". As you type, they watch and record your 

• Bank account numbers and balances
• Passwords and PIN codes

Martico

I'm amazed that it's the accent that raised a red flag for you and not the fact that this was an unsolicited WhatsApp call

Emmia

Hi folks,

On a short break and had a call to my What's app, the caller with a very authentic UK accent told me that there was a transaction of £700 on my First Direct card ( I actually haven't had one for years) passed me over to a manager who enquired about my Barclays account as well and what balances (I do have a Barclays credit card)

Yet again a perfect UK accent. What is concerning is they wanted me to click on middle of phone screen possibility to accept the video call that they had started. It was only when I asked what mame was on the account that they hung up. What I find really concerning is that 1 they are more likely than not to be using AI tools to create an authentic UK accent that is really convincing and 2 the purpose of a video call is to get a good video of the person so that with the use of AI they may be able to circumvent Bank Biometrics, those with a more techie mind than myself, maybe can assure me that this is not possible.

So the flag wasn't that they referred to an FD account you haven't had for many years? But the "authenticity" of their British accent...

Can I point out, it is completely possible to learn a different accent convincingly, actors do it all the time...

flaneurs_lobster

Let this be a warning to all.

Not all scam calls feature a person with a heavy foreign accent sounding like they are in a noisy call centre a long way away.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6674358/i-find-this-almost-certainly-a-scam-very-concering

More likely its someone who was raised in the UK or someone who's have decent with accents. Wife was born overseas and isnt a native English speaker, when she came to the UK she spoke with an American accent because she had learnt English with American TV. Now after two decades in the UK she has a British accent and americanisms grate on her.

Someone calling you about fraud on WhatsApp is an obvious and massive red flag.

Someone calling you about fraud but then needing to pass you to a manager is another big red flag, if you are working in counter fraud outbound calls you will do anything in your power to not have to pass a caller to a manager… doing so doesnt work because there will be at least 12 agents to each manager and even if you think only 25% of calls end up being fraud that manager cannot be on 4 calls at the same time on top of doing what a manager is actually supposed to do (which isnt talking to customers).

Someone calling you from HSBC/First Direct is never going to ask about your accounts with other banks, and especially not something totally irrelevant like their balances.

Depending on your phone, OS version etc there are multiple reasons why they may want to get a video of you. I doubt anyone is going to the effort of generating AI impersonations to try and pass biometric tests, there are more than enough people who dont see the red flags who will simply transfer money to the "safe account" without messing about with AI

born_again

FD never have used Wats App.

anotherquestion

Thanks for all replies, I have had lots of scam calls on landline before, but now since fewer people have landlines they are targeting mobiles a lot more it seems. Just had another call on mobile, not WhatsApp this time, same format, more than likely same scammers,I do feel that they have developed an extra level of sophistication that I have not heard before in scam calls, and for the unwary this could lead to them pulling off a scam that they might not have been able to do previously, Because of a family member having a medical condition, that we get a lot of calls about we do have to answer every call.