Watch out for phone scams! - From Trading Standards

21st December 2012

Many people become the victims of fraudsters intent on conning them out of their cash. If you receive an unsolicited or unexpected telephone call, be on your guard as it may be a scam. Scams take many different forms but a common route which fraudsters use to contact victims is the cold telephone call.

Each year, many people fall victim to fraudsters - usually operating from overseas - intent on stealing their personal and financial information and conning them out of their cash.
The fraudsters sound convincing, professional and may claim to represent a business you know, for example your bank or an official organisation. They may pressure you to act quickly, either because they want to trick you into believing you will miss a golden opportunity to make money or that you will suffer some sort of loss.
Never give personal or financial information out to anyone who cold calls you on the telephone. Be cautious and if in doubt, hang up.

So how do you spot a scam?

Scams come in many guises and here a few of the common scams complained about by consumers.

Computer virus scam
Telecoms scam
Loan scam
Personal Protection Insurance Claim Scam
Vehicle matching scam
Council tax scam
Private pension scam
Premium rate phone scam

Computer virus scam
You may be targeted and telephoned by cold callers pretending to represent a well-known software company telephoning to fix a fake computer problem. The fraudster's aim is to trick you into believing that your computer has a serious virus problem and that you need to act immediately or it will become unusable. You will be shown so-called 'errors' on your computer in the hope that you will be frightened into allowing the fraudster to remotely access your computer to fix the problem.

At this point, the fraudster takes control of your computer and then requests payment of a fee to carry out repairs. There is no genuine fault so you end up paying for an unnecessary repair or bogus software. You may have left yourself exposed to identity theft, as your computer could have been deliberately infected with malicious software such as viruses and spyware. This could mean that the fraudster can access your personal details, such as your passwords and bank account information.

Telecoms scam
Fraudsters may contact you by telephone claiming to represent your telecoms provider. You may be told your account is in arrears and that you have to make an immediate payment to prevent your phone line from being disconnected. The fraudster may even offer to demonstrate that he has the ability to disconnect your phone line. This simple trick involves the fraudster pressing the mute button. There is no dial tone and you cannot dial out because the phone line is still actually connected, although it appears that the line is dead. The fraudster rings you back in the hope he has now proved he is a genuine telecoms representative when, of course, he is not and that you are required to make a payment.

Loan scam
The fraudster may telephone you and invite you to apply for a 'guaranteed' loan. You will be asked to provide your personal details, including your bank details and then asked to pay an up-front fee so that the application can be processed. However, the promised loan does not materialise - the fraudster had no intention of providing it - and the fee you have paid may be lost.

Personal Protection Insurance Claim Scam
Similar to the one above (loan scam) but the caller will state that they can make a claim on your behalf to reclaim personal protection insurance that you have paid on loans, credit cards etc. You will be asked to provide your personal details, including your bank details and then asked to pay an up-front fee (usually under £100, but can be more), so your application can be processed. However the application is never lodged and the money you have paid may be lost as a result.

Vehicle matching scam
You may decide to advertise your motor vehicle privately for sale in the local newspaper or online. The fraudster may ring you and claim that he has a buyer ready and willing to buy your motor vehicle. You will be asked for an up-front fee, usually around £99.00 before you can be 'matched' to the buyer. After payment, you will then discover that there is no buyer waiting or the so-called buyer has dropped out and the fee you have paid may be lost.

Council tax scam
You may receive an unsolicited telephone call claiming that you can benefit from thousands of pounds in council tax refunds. You will be asked to provide personal information, including your bank or credit/debit card details. The scam uses the lure of a promised refund to catch you off-guard and obtain your personal information with a view to stealing your identity and your money.

Private pension scam
You may receive an unsolicited telephone call asking you whether you are paying into a private pension. The fraudster will say that if you are, you may be able to release a lump sum payment from your pension before you retire, transfer your pension to an overseas scheme to avoid UK tax or transfer your pension to another organisation, which will invest the money for you, tax free. The fraudster dupes you into paying a large set-up fee and/or transferring your pension. However, you may never hear from them again or, worse still, you could put your entire pension in jeopardy, as well as incurring substantial tax charges and penalties.

Premium rate phone scam
You may answer your telephone to discover that the caller is a recorded voice informing you that you are a 'winner'. You will be asked to ring a premium rate number to claim your prize. The prize, however, does not exist or is of little or no value. The fraudsters make their money from the costly premium rate call you have made, which can often last several minutes.

How to avoid becoming a victim of a telephone scam:
· stop, think and be sceptical. If something sounds too good to be true it probably is
· do not be rushed into giving personal or financial information to someone you do not know, however plausible they might sound and even if they claim to represent a business or organisation you have heard of
· genuine businesses or organisations will never telephone call you and ask you for personal or financial information
· think about how much money you could lose responding to a potential scam - it's a gamble not worth taking
· ask your telecoms provider to set up call screening on your telephone so that you know who is calling your number before you decide to answer it. If the number is withheld it will be displayed as 'number withheld'
· you can arrange with your telecoms provider to reject anonymous calls to your telephone
· register with the Telephone Preference Service. This is a free service where you can register your preference not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing calls, although it may not stop overseas calls. You can register on 0845 070 0707 or online

REMEMBER TO BE CAUTIOUS AND IF IN DOUBT – HANG UP!

What should you do if you feel you may have been a victim of a scam? And how can you get your money back if you have given out your credit/debit card details?
Immediately contact your bank, building society or finance provider and seek their advice if you have used you credit card or debit card to make a payment to a possible scam. If you have been the victim of a fraud, they may be able to help.

Payments by credit card
If you paid for what turned out to be bogus goods or services by credit card, and if the cost was more than £100, you are protected by the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Section 75 of the Act makes the card provider as responsible as the trader for a breach of contract or a misrepresentation. You are entitled to take action against the trader, the card provider or both. This does not apply to charge cards or debit cards. In the case of fraud of you may have great difficulty recovering your money from the fraudster but you may be able to recover it from the finance provider.

Payments by debit card
If you used a debit card to by what turned out to be bogus goods or services or if you used a credit card and the price of the goods or services was less that £100 (your rights under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 would not apply), you may be able to take advantage of the chargeback scheme.

Chargeback is the term used by card providers for reclaiming a card payment from the trader's bank. If you can evidence a breach of contract - goods are not delivered or the service was not carried out, for example - you can ask your card provider to attempt to recover the payment.

Check with your card provider as to how the scheme rules apply to your card, whether internet transactions are covered and what the time limit is for making a claim.

If you use a debit card or a credit card to service an online payment method such as Paypal to buy goods or services, it is unlikely that you will be able to use either the Consumer Credit Act 1974 or the chargeback scheme to claim from your card provider in the event of a dispute.
However, Paypal has its own dispute resolution process which may assist you in getting your problem resolved . You must be quick in contacting Paypal however as there are time limits relating to raising a claim with them.

Other payment methods
More recently consumers have been asked to make payments either by Ukash Voucher or by bankers draft or via a money transfer service. Unlike payments made by debit or credit card, payments made using a ‘Ukash Voucher Code’ cannot be traced and reversed. For this very reason, ‘Ukash’ advise all customers to treat ‘Ukash Vouchers’ like cash and to check their list of secure ‘Participating Ukash Voucher Merchants’ shown on their website, before going ahead with any transaction: http://www.ukash.com/uk/en/alerts/security-tips.aspx. Consumers can also contact Ukash by phone for advice on 0808 234 6244. Payments by ‘Bankers Draft’ and/or via a money transfer service are also difficult to trace. You should only use these methods of payment for persons or businesses that you know and that relate to a specific contract that you have entered into. Never use a ‘banker’s draft’ or payment through a money transfer service if you do not know the person you are dealing with. Once the money has been paid over it is extremely unlikely that you would be able to get it back.

I've been conned - what can I do?
Victims of fraud or scams in the UK can make a crime report to ‘Action Fraud’ on 0300 123 2040 or report it online at: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud .

If you are conned into phoning a premium rate number, you can report it to PhonepayPlus, which regulates premium rate services in the UK. The Phonepayplus Contact Centre can be reached by phone on 0800 500 212.

You can also speak to an advisor from the Citizens Advice Consumer Service (frontline telephone consumer advice service) 08454 04 05 06 or visit or write to: The Highland Council Trading Standards Service, 38 Harbour Road, Inverness IV1 1UF.