HMRC called. Warrant issued, jail time looming!

I knew asking for a rebate and getting a cheque from HMRC for approx 200 smackers would not end well.

Had a call this morning from a rather stern gent asking me to press 1 else a warrant would be issued.

Might go a bit quiet for some time while I serve my dues but no doubt I'll bounce back with an extremely high moral compass :worked_till_5am:

Anyway, onto a serious question, was obviously a scam/bogus call and I hung up but what's the idea behind pressing 1, how do they gain?

Did a quick google and it seems that the threat might be that you owe money and they ask for payment details, others have said they ask for bank details but you'd have to be pretty spaced out to believe this from a random call even though the gent did have a certain voice of authority?

Had an automated call the other day from BT saying my broadband would be cut off unless I pressed 1, did so and spent 40 minutes talking to an Indian lady then a gent who were trying to access my computer. At least for those 40 minutes they weren’t trying to scam somebody a bit more gullible.

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Originally Posted by bobdog

Had an automated call the other day from BT saying my broadband would be cut off unless I pressed 1, did so and spent 40 minutes talking to an Indian lady then a gent who were trying to access my computer. At least for those 40 minutes they weren’t trying to scam somebody a bit more gullible.

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If they’d kept you on hold for 40 minutes then failed to help you would have known it really was BT.

I’m getting regular emails telling me that my tv licence has been suspended!

God loves a trier[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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Originally Posted by vortgern

If they’d kept you on hold for 40 minutes then failed to help you would have known it really was BT.

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I must admit when I got off the phone I rang BT who were surprisingly good!

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Originally Posted by Dave+63

I’m getting regular emails telling me that my tv licence has been suspended!

God loves a trier[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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Had this one on a weekly basis since the turn of the year, can’t suspend what I don’t have!

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Originally Posted by IAmATeaf

I knew asking for a rebate and getting a cheque from HMRC for approx 200 smackers would not end well.

Had a call this morning from a rather stern gent asking me to press 1 else a warrant would be issued.

Might go a bit quiet for some time while I serve my dues but no doubt I'll bounce back with an extremely high moral compass :worked_till_5am:

Anyway, onto a serious question, was obviously a scam/bogus call and I hung up but what's the idea behind pressing 1, how do they gain?

Did a quick google and it seems that the threat might be that you owe money and they ask for payment details, others have said they ask for bank details but you'd have to be pretty spaced out to believe this from a random call even though the gent did have a certain voice of authority?

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Must stop trying to drink coffee while reading posts.

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Originally Posted by oldoakknives

Must stop trying to drink coffee while reading posts.

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I’d missed that! [emoji23][emoji23]

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Originally Posted by bobdog

Had an automated call the other day from BT saying my broadband would be cut off unless I pressed 1, did so and spent 40 minutes talking to an Indian lady then a gent who were trying to access my computer. At least for those 40 minutes they weren’t trying to scam somebody a bit more gullible.

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The scam is pressing the “1”
It dials a premium rate number costing hundreds £££ a minute ;-)

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Originally Posted by speedypro1111

The scam is pressing the “1”
It dials a premium rate number costing hundreds £££ a minute ;-)

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Damn! LoL.

I also got a call from "HMRC" from a 0300 number yesterday. Automated voice message telling me "A tax fraud case has been registered against your name ...", at which point I hung up. Don't know if he would have proceeded to ask me to press a digit as I didn't give it long enough. I may be gullible but this one was easy as it is pretty clear to me that when it comes to taxes, I should be the one reporting HMRC for fraud!

I'm only getting the garden variety 'We've heard you had an accident' calls. It's been going on for years, so they somehow are making money to stay in business, but how?

If it's not on my friends and family list it goes to answering machine. I have lots of hangups!!!!! :)

Had a call from Offshore Call Centre wanting to update my Laptop Software.
Upon them asking for Lappy Model Number, I gave them my Panasonic Microwave’s model number. After 15 minutes of unsuccessful searching through their notes at the other end the call abruptly ended.
Never did get my Software updated. ...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by FK77

I also got a call from "HMRC" from a 0300 number yesterday. Automated voice message telling me "A tax fraud case has been registered against your name ...", at which point I hung up. Don't know if he would have proceeded to ask me to press a digit as I didn't give it long enough. I may be gullible but this one was easy as it is pretty clear to me that when it comes to taxes, I should be the one reporting HMRC for fraud!

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Sounds like the same, nine was from 0300 200 3779, probably a spoofed number.

Good day for random calls, I also had a call from 07950 347097 asking me if I thought her 'pillows' were big?

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Originally Posted by IAmATeaf

Sounds like the same, nine was from 0300 200 3779, probably a spoofed number.

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Mine was 70 as opposed to 79.

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Originally Posted by IAmATeaf

I also had a call from 07950 347097 asking me if I thought her 'pillows' were big?

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Thanks. Number saved.

I've just had the thought that if ever HMRC want to get in touch with anyone for real they're going to be in trouble!

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Originally Posted by bobdog

Had an automated call the other day from BT saying my broadband would be cut off unless I pressed 1, did so and spent 40 minutes talking to an Indian lady then a gent who were trying to access my computer. At least for those 40 minutes they weren’t trying to scam somebody a bit more gullible.

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My parents had this automated call. Luckily they smelled a rat and hung up. I've been drilling this response into them for ages now as I am paranoid that some scum bag is going to take advantage of them. So upsetting that elderly and vulnerable people get caught by this type of fraud.

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Originally Posted by beechcustom

My parents had this automated call. Luckily they smelled a rat and hung up. I've been drilling this response into them for ages now as I am paranoid that some scum bag is going to take advantage of them. So upsetting that elderly and vulnerable people get caught by this type of fraud.

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Agreed, they are parasites. If they are with BT and they get another call after they have hung up they can call 1572 and block the last call they received. I have blocked all international calls as they originate from abroad although they get rerouted through a UK number.

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Originally Posted by bobdog

Had an automated call the other day from BT saying my broadband would be cut off unless I pressed 1, did so and spent 40 minutes talking to an Indian lady then a gent who were trying to access my computer. At least for those 40 minutes they weren’t trying to scam somebody a bit more gullible.

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Check your bill

B

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Originally Posted by Brian

Check your bill

B

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I can’t see any charge being incurred on my side as after 15 minutes I got bored and hung up, they immediately rang me back and continued to try and access my computer for a further 20 minutes until I got bored again, hung up and rang BT.

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Originally Posted by IAmATeaf

Sounds like the same, nine was from 0300 200 3779, probably a spoofed number.

Good day for random calls, I also had a call from 07950 347097 asking me if I thought her 'pillows' were big?

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Virtually all HMRC numbers will start 03000, so these scammers are doing an ok job at making it seem as legitimate as they can.

The bit they're letting themselves down on though is surely if HMRC were starting an investigation into someone for tax fraud, they wouldn't call to let them know first.....:smug:

The big mistake many people are making is answering the phone in the first place! I take the view that I am not so significant that anyone would want to speak to me on the phone. (Same view on mobiles - I am not the one who picks up calls every time - even in the supermarket queue). OK I may play hard to get but up to now it has worked for me.

A friend of mine recently had a call from "Microsoft" telling him he had 9162 viruses on his computer which would stop in the next two weeks if he didn't take action. He isn't very tech-savvy and fell for their line, giving them access to his computer for a princely FOUR hours whilst they "cleaned" it, and even paid them via a credit card for some "anti-virus software" with an on-screen emergency button to enable him to summon help in the future. They even went to the lengths of making a spoof call from Barclaycard to ask him if he had just made a payment to the software company. He was as pleased as punch that they had saved his computer - till several colleagues pointed out it was all a scam. He then spent hours changing passwords, cancelling credit and debit cards...........you get the picture. Luckily, up to now, he doesn't seem to have lost anything. It could very easily have ended in tears.

https://youtu.be/4uEgcluZsWc


Sent from my iPad using TZ-UK mobile app

I had a strange one, some American sounding guy advised me the company I work for was just about to go into court accused of financial misconduct and that I had to take immediate action. I said this sounds like a scam, and put the phone down. He called me straight back saying don't make the mistake of thinking this was a scam, I could be extradited. I the put the phone down a second time.
He did know my name and quite a few facts about he company.

We did not get as far as what he actually wanted but 5% of me did wonder if in anyway it could be genuine, picturing the MD asking me why I did not alert the legal or global security teams. Nothing ever came of it.

I think pressing '1' sends a beep back down the line so they know someone is on the other end. I believe they dial 1000's of numbers per hour and then the ones that beep back '1' have a human on the line and are put onto the scammer in person.

I do not think pressing '1' on any received call can expose you to reversed charges.

I had a similar scam a few moths ago. Apparently HMRC asking for me to press 1. However the giveaway was when they quoted I owe 100,000 dollars :)

Made me chuckle for a while...

I had a call a few weeks ago from a number in Portsmouth. The very nice gentleman told me HMRC had opened a case against me and did I have a solicitor for an up coming court case. I very quickly told him to duck away which he replied all calls are being recorded, so I repeated and asked him to go duck himself. Well that seemed to do the trick as he very quickly let his cover slip and launched into a slightly more abusive rant than me. He then hung up possible by mistake so I called him back just in case it was a mistake. I got another case officer this time who tried telling me he was in a London office and couldn't explain why the number came up as Portsmouth or sounded like he was in a warehouse. He told me to Faff off and hung up.
I thought I would give them a call back the next day but unfortunately the number had been disconnected.
HMRC really need to work on staff training if this is a reflection of there customer service

My Broadband and landline is now with Virgin Fibre, is there any call blocking kit on the market that works with Virgin(Non-BT) and actually does the blocking/screening job? Comments and experiences from you guys would be very welcome!

Instead of just posting here maybe you should spend the time reporting it!

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...stoms-examples

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Originally Posted by KavKav

My Broadband and landline is now with Virgin Fibre, is there any call blocking kit on the market that works with Virgin(Non-BT) and actually does the blocking/screening job? Comments and experiences from you guys would be very welcome!

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Call blocker 5000 is what I use, I’d estimate it’s reduced our spam calls by well over 90%. You do need CLID enabled of course.

https://www.onedirect.co.uk/cpr/cpr-call-blocker-v5000

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Originally Posted by Gav

Instead of just posting here maybe you should spend the time reporting it!

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...stoms-examples

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If he hadn't posted on here probably wouldn't have known about this.

Law enforcement really do need to come down hard on the scum at the centre of these operations as unfortunately they tend to succeed with the more vulnerable in our society. My (late) elderly father was a minor victim of a cold calling sales scam despite having discussed the possibility. We ended up getting BT phones with call blocking so if you've an elderly parent or similar it's worth thinking about as a preventative measure.

We originally got it to reduce the number of phantom cold calls from these numpties having tired of 'entertaining' them. It was funny though when one gentleman spent 15 minutes talking to my son about moving to a new bank before handing up having finally established he didn't have a mortgage because he was 12.

The press 1 scam is a great one.

What ever you do, don't do it. As if you do, it is classed as accepting premium rate reverse charges.

At the other end they don't care about selling anything, scamming any details out of you, their interest is to keep you on the phone and rack up the call charges.

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Originally Posted by bobdog

Had an automated call the other day from BT saying my broadband would be cut off unless I pressed 1, did so and spent 40 minutes talking to an Indian lady then a gent who were trying to access my computer. At least for those 40 minutes they weren’t trying to scam somebody a bit more gullible.

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They didn't have to, they found you

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Originally Posted by nunya

The press 1 scam is a great one.

What ever you do, don't do it. As if you do, it is classed as accepting premium rate reverse charges.

At the other end they don't care about selling anything, scamming any details out of you, their interest is to keep you on the phone and rack up the call charges.

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Don’t see how that works, as I said after 15 minutes I hung up and they called back, I didn’t press 1 this time I was straight through to the female Indian scammer who was still trying to access my computer.

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Originally Posted by speedypro1111

The scam is pressing the “1”
It dials a premium rate number costing hundreds £££ a minute ;-)

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mainly the HMRC Scam seems to be following the IRS scams going round the US for ages (see youtube scamming the scammers type videos)
they convince you to pay the 'fine' over the phone with your debit or credit card etc.

Daily Mail are infiltrating the scammers network!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ng-prison.html

I have just received an email from the CIA, who have apparently been monitoring me for quite some time.
Its all fine though, if I send them some Bitcoins, all will be well again.

Oooh, that's scary....

Had the HMRC one a few times and last night funnily enough . Had BT on the business lines too .
The e mails for having recorded me on my laptop by the webcam cracking one off keeps being sent , problem is i dont have a webcam lol

I had a text saying I was still due a Road Tax refund, with a website address to claim it back

That's a new one, I've had a company car for about 4 years so haven't paid road tax for years

Cheers

Kevin