Be Aware of Suspicious Phone Calls!

Almost three-quarters of us have been targeted by scammers in the past two years and one in 10 know someone who has lost money to fraud, according to Citizens Advice.

Receiving suspicious phone calls is when criminals want your money, information, or access to your computer (or all three). They do this by tricking you into doing what they want. The criminals call people around the world, creating situations that seem very urgent. They want to put you off-balance by scaring you, so you won’t think clearly and then rush you into making a mistake.

Watch out for these ten tell-tale signs of suspicious phone calls and make sure you don’t take the bait:

 

• It doesn’t sound right. Is there something a little off with the language?

 

• Generic salutations. Caller may use generic names instead of addressing you directly to maximise the number of potential victims.

 

• Request for sensitive data. Caller pretending to be from your bank that your account has been cancelled and you must call a number to reactivate it.

 

• Specific information on you. The caller has specific information about you and can use this against you.

 

• Scare tactics. The caller makes you believe that your data and personal information will be shared with your family and friends if you don’t pay over the phone.

 

• Ask to access your computer. The caller pretends they are Tech Support and explain that your computer is infected. They then pressure you into buying their software or giving them remote access to your computer.

 

• Sense of urgency. The caller pretends that they are from a government tax department and that you have unpaid taxes. They explain that if you don’t pay your taxes right away you will be imprisoned and pressure you to pay with a credit card over the phone.

 

• Verify your PC name / account details. Someone pretending to be from CIT asking you to verify your account details.

 

• Phone calls being received from unknown sources. If a phone call is coming from someone you do not personally know, let the call go directly to voicemail or cease the call immediately.

 

• You have won the grand prize. The caller makes you believe that you have won a holiday or a sum of money with false claims.

 

If you have any suspicions about the activity you are being asked to undertake; please end the call immediately and report the incident to the Co-operative IT on 0330 355 111, option 2.

If you want to confirm the phone call was legitimate always ask for a reference number, that way you really know you are talking to a colleague of the Midcounties Co-operative CIT.