Amazon Prime scam?

[JAParticipant @ja]

About a year ago I mistakenly opened an Amazon Prime account which I did not want or need. Amazon closed the account immediately and I was happy.

I have had two phone calls this morning supposedly from Amazon Prime saying, in a recorded voice, that they are going to take next years payment from my bank account and if I was no longer interested I should press button 1.

I have no idea whether this is serious or a scam. Amazon seems impossible to contact unless you have an account. However I have chatted to my bank and their advice is wait for a payment which it can be tracked.

I did 1471 on both calls: The first came from 04072 217909 and the second was unknown.

Has anyone else experienced this?

JA

[JAParticipant @ja]

[Stuart BridgerParticipant @stuartbridger82290]

Yes, get these calls at least once a week. 100% scam, totally unrelated to your previous account, just ignore.

[Anonymous]

Definite scam. I've never had Amazon Prime but I still get regular calls saying I need to cancel my trial or I'll be charged. The calls purport to come from a UK number but the accent is always American. The scammers rely on the one in a hundred, or thousand, who actually had a Prime account to take things further.

Andrew

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I had one this morning!

Claiming to be Amazon is just one variant. The scam caller names a supplier, any supplier, and says £xxx has been taken, if that's wrong press 1. Don't know what happens if they're contacted, but it's unlikely to be good!

Although these calls are usually fairly obvious stay alert! Even a clever suspicious person might fall for it if, as in JA's example, a spam call accidentally aligns with a real-world problem. Stop and think before responding even if it seems to make sense – few if any legitimate enterprises ring up out of the blue in this way. It's unlikely to be genuine.

The con may involve them telling you to ring back on, say, your Bank's correct number. You hang up, but they don't. You dial the bank, but are still connected to the bad guy, who then pretends to be them. Now you're convinced it's the bank and follow orders… If asked to call back, ring someone else first to make sure the original call is really disconnected.

Dave

[JAParticipant @ja]

Many thanks for the replies.

Off to the workshop for a few hours.

JA

[Neil AParticipant @neila]

We get these supposed calls from Amazon Prime at least two or three times a week, it's a definite scam as the others have said. We don't even bother to listen to the whole message now, just put the phone down. Just another irritation to have to put up with.

Neil

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

Every year when my 12month phone contract expires, I scout around for another supplier with a cheap cost. BUT, I wave goodbye to my old number and all the toerag scammers and get new no. from new supplier. Friends and relatives informed and a few organisations. All others told new no. if and when it suits my convenience. Result ; Peace, glorious peace!

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Had 3 "BT" calls yesterday and 1 today saying my IP address had been hacked and my Internet would be disconnected in 24 hours, Press 1 etc which I did not do. Must be random dialiing because I am Ex Directory and have been for years.

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

If you get a strange call, put the number into google search the results are normally interesting.

04072 217909 only returns a post (zip) code in the US so not even a real STD code

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

It reminds me of the old AOL promises of a months free trial which was difficult to cancel.

[Chris GunnParticipant @chrisgunn36534]

We had the same type of call today, relating to an alleged fraudulent payment on our Mastercard credit card.

I am told that if you press 1 you get connected to a premium rate line, can anyone confirm this?

Chris Gunn

[HOWARDTParticipant @howardt]

I have had numerous emails purporting to be from well known business, BT, Amazon, PayPal, etc. All seem to originate from an IP address in the USA, all in the same area around Atlanta. Phone calls easily masked with UK numbers, latest we had was from Azerbaijan.

[Enough!Participant @enough]

There is also the "near scam" from Amazon itself ….. where they decide to give you a free trial of Amazon Prime (and lately the Amazon Mastercard) where the default is that you accept and the "Refuse" option is very nearly hidden.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Posted by Chris Gunn on 07/07/2020 19:55:23:

We had the same type of call today, relating to an alleged fraudulent payment on our Mastercard credit card.

I am told that if you press 1 you get connected to a premium rate line, can anyone confirm this?

Chris Gunn

Oh yes i have had a few friends who have had this happen to them. The usual is a pound a minute. £1 taken straight away so no good pressing 1 then hanging up. They've already had you.

Steve.

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

I have a Prime account, and find it works extremely well. The calls mentioned are a complete scam, do not be fooled.

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

My phone and internet are from TalkTalk, both of which work fine. The phone has an optional, free, call screening facility. Calls from whitelisted numbers are passed normally, all others must state their name which is passed to me when I answer. I can then whitelist the number by pressing 1, accept it this time only by pressing 2, or rejecting it by pressing 3. Since using the service I've had almost no spam or scam calls.

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

There was a distinct lack of nuisance calls when Covid19 first occurred and lockdown brought in, the rats now seem to be leaving their holes again.

Regards Ian.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, I've got into the habit of not answering calls that I don't know the number of and any that I do mistakenly answer, I can put into my block list, all the numbers I'm likely to want to answer are in the electronic phonebook built into the phone. If I do happen to answer a call that I'm not interested in, I simply say "sorry I'm not interested" and put the phone down before they get a chance to try and hoodwink me. I haven't had any nuisance calls for a long while now.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 08/07/2020 11:53:58

[Oily RagParticipant @oilyrag]

A good friend of mine had a NQL number – this is a stage further than a non directory number as there is no record of you having a phone, so for example with a non directory number if I rang up directory enquiries and asked for the number for Joe Williams at 17 Waldorf street they would say "sorry that is a non directory number", with an NQL number they come back and say "Sorry – we have no listing for anyone at that address"

He had a random call telling him he had been involved in a car accident that wasn't his fault – he responded by saying "Where have you got this number from? Do not put the phone down as this is a high security data line and I need to get to the bottom of why you have dialled this number, I need to speak to your supervisor immediately as this is a gross violation of national security" Shortly, a very chasened fellow came on the line apologising profusely, my friend said he could expect a call from Special Branch in the near future.

He never had another scam call!

[alan-lloydParticipant @alan-lloyd]

amazon customer service 0800 279 7234

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

I've had three variants of the Amazon Prime scam call: A foreign sounding woman with an American-ish accent, an English-sounding woman who was obviously reading a script and not very fluently, and a cultured English woman.

The first two told me that my Amazon Prime account was going to be renewed and I would be charged "thirty nine point nine nine" – no units.

The third referred to "Visa or Mastercard" and "your bank" and told me I had been charged "fifty nine point nine nine" and that I should press 1 to stop it.

All bosh; I don't use Amazon.

George B.

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