Postal fraud

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

This is a message from Lincolnshire Alert Information sent on behalf of Lincolnshire Police

Message sent by
Nigel Wass (Support, PCSO NC56 Horncastle & Wragby, Horncastle Station)

Hello. This is PCSO Nigel Wass.
Could we please make people aware of the Postal Scam below.

Postal Scam:

Can you circulate this around especially as Xmas is fast approaching – it has been confirmed by Royal Mail. The Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the following scam:

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact the m on 0906 6611911 (a Premium rate number).

DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize.

If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £315 for the phone call.

If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 020 7239 6655.

Nigel Wass

Pcso 2188 Nigel Wass
Horncastle NPT
Wolds Area
Lincolnshire Police

Tel 101 Ext 4627
Mobile 07939 312724

Policing with PRIDE
Professionalism Respect Integrity Dedication Empathy

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/pds-phone-scam.html

This would appear to be "old news" ?

Brief Analysis
The warning was true several years back, but the scam was shut down in late 2005. The scam is not reoccurring in 2012. Reposting this hopelessly outdated and misleading warning will not help anybody stay safe this Christmas.

Regards,

Nigel B.

[AndyBParticipant @andyb47186]

Blimey..that sounds like shooting the messenger!

I would like to point out that highlighting even old warnings raises awareness of all possible scams so making everyone a bit safer at any time of the year. I might say that constant repetition does make us turn off from them but the occasional reminder does no harm.

Thanks David

Andy

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

Blimey..that sounds like shooting the messenger!

The "Brief analysis" quote is from the de-bunking website.

This kind of thing is continually going the rounds & they get perpetuated by well-meaning people who pass them on wholesale without questioning the truth behind them. A little "investigation" by the PCSO would have found out the apparent reality behind this one & saved no end of spam e-mails.

Putting the number quoted into Google shows that the Phone Regulator closed this one down around 2006 ! Yet it continues to clog in-boxes and reduce bandwidth every year. Who is that helping ?

Regards,

Nigel B.

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

• The chain email refers to a service (operating on 0906 661 1911) that was shut down by PhonepayPlus (then ICSTIS) in December 2005. PhonepayPlus subsequently fined the company that was operating the service, Studio Telecom (based in Belize), £10,000.

• The service is NO LONGER running and has NOT been running since December 2005.

• You do NOT need to contact PhonepayPlus, or the Royal Mail, about this service as it was stopped almost six years ago.

• If you receive a copy of the email warning you about the alleged scam, please do NOT forward it to others. Instead, please forward this statement from PhonepayPlus.

• If you receive a delivery card through your letterbox which you do not believe is genuine and which asks you to dial a premium rate number, you can contact PhonepayPlus on 0800 500 212 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) for further guidance.

• For more detailed information about PhonepayPlus’ work, please visit http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk.

[chris jParticipant @chrisj]

Done with the best of intentions I'm sure, so thanks.

Chris

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

There are still scams out there, even our 'cast iron' spam checker at work let through a paypal scam on monday, although Outlook identified it as suspect and issued a warning.

It does no harm to be reminded, especially as we are not all equally savvy about possible scams.

Neil

[Robin teslarParticipant @robinteslar]

hi guys

just cos your paranoid doesnt make you wrong

So hears one for your Xmas stocking, happened to a pal of mine a few days ago. Last week Id been over to clean up his machine from an annoying virus priotector, not a recognised app. It was popping up telling him that his machine had 600+ system error, would he like it fixed. Fortunately he didnt follow it through and calleed me instead and I smelt a rat.

Anyway a few days later he got a phone call from some outfit pretending to be Microsoft telling him that M$ had detected serious errors and he needed to upgrade. Once again he didnt act cos they wanted £87 for the upgrade. Its one of these redirection numbers again

http://www.fraudwatchers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3882

Wicked

So dont get complacent

If you have ever got to phone a strange number (this one looked like a regular London number) then use a phone box or a payg mobile with almost no credit

Its time BT got its act together, they wont let you block International nuisance calls, I get 6 a day intercepted by my answer phone, one of the best defences

Cheers

Robin

[1Participant @1]

Here's a quick heads up for you if you go Christmas shopping on your own over the next few weeks. I got done at Milton Keynes Centre shopping mall but I imagine they’re working at all the big shopping centers.

Here's how the scam works: two seriously good-looking young women come over to your car as you are lifting your shopping into the boot. They both start wiping your windscreen with a rag and suds, with their boobs almost falling out of their skimpy T-shirts. It is impossible not to look. When you thank them and offer to pay, they say "no" and instead ask you for a lift as far as the bus stop. You agree and they get into the back seat. On the way, they take their tops off. Then one of them climbs over into the front seat and starts crawling all over you, while the other one steals your wallet.

I had my wallet stolen on November 3rd, 10th, twice on the 11th and three times just yesterday.

Jim

[Robin teslarParticipant @robinteslar]

You are a naughty old boy, enough to make an ME turn on his cross-slide

Cant talk about wimin and boobs, you'll get knurled by the Mod

Robin

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

Jim's post above reminds me of a HSE reporton a whisky distillery worker..

Today a man drowned in a vat of whiskey, having fallen from an unprotected walkway."

It must have been a terrible death…He had to get out for a pee three times

[chris stephensParticipant @chrisstephens63393]

Slightly different one, as reported by my local neighbourhood watch chappie, delivery man calls with a package and says there is a top up delivery charge and he can only take a card in payment. Guess what, his boss wont let him take cash to avoid fraud by his staff!!!! Anyway, if you believe him, in moments his card machine has your card details AND your PIN. Sounds feasible doesn't it, so if you are gullible be warned.

chriStephens

[Robin teslarParticipant @robinteslar]

Well it gets worse, another pal got called up by someone pretending to be a phone security service, telling him that he was ulnerable and someone had atacked his line and he owned shed loads of money. The guy said we are going to cut off your service unless you pay a service fee to stop this of £85. My pal said no and put the phone down and sure enough his line went dead.

10 mis later he got a call back from the same guy saying , there I told you we would cut off your phone. It turns out that the scammer had put his caller on hold (or secret third party conference) which then blocks the line. So scary and he called me on mobile I said wait it will go away

I said get an answering machine

Robin

[AndyfParticipant @andyf]

I too appreciate the reminder. Though that particular scam may have been closed down, I'm sure that the idea of getting folk to ring up an extortion-rate line will turn up again before long. It may have done so already; I delete the occasional email trying to lure me into something (I don't know what, never having followed them up) on the pretext that "Your order is delayed" or something similar.

Andy

[HowiParticipant @howi]

Posted by Andyf on 29/11/2012 01:02:13:

I too appreciate the reminder. Though that particular scam may have been closed down, I'm sure that the idea of getting folk to ring up an extortion-rate line will turn up again before long. It may have done so already; I delete the occasional email trying to lure me into something (I don't know what, never having followed them up) on the pretext that "Your order is delayed" or something similar.

Andy

Yes! It prolbaby will, but premium rate numbers have their rate per minute capped to £1.50.

I used to work in IT and we got these messages regularly, including from the police and local council.

A two minute search on google will soon tell you they are a scam and just meant to flood the system with useless emails. Anyone who tried to send anything like this got a flea in their ear if they didn't contact me first.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

I had had a few of the so called Microsoft one wanting you to check over your computer.

Ace fun, you go along with them and pretend to open your computer and go to the web site indicated and download the piece of software they tell you to.

No risk at all as my computer is miles away. you then tell then it down load ing but it's throw up an error message.

When they ask what the message is you say

"This software is not compatable to Apple macintosh "

Click………………….

[Steve WithnellParticipant @stevewithnell34426]

We quite often get calls "I'm calling from BT/British Gas/Sky TV/… we just need you to answer a few security questions". Nope, that's not how it works. You called me, I get to ask the security questions…click.

BTW here is my favourite revenge on the cold caller:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBfsdkGeMc8

Steve

[David ColwillParticipant @davidcolwill19261]

My E-mail address is my first name @ my full name .com. One of the frustrations / delights of this is the constant bombardment with scams. I can receive up to 250 spam E-mails in 1 day most of them trying to hoodwink me in some way. This has been useful in that it has allowed me to see a sort of pattern. At times these people can be quite clever and at others unbelievably stupid ( 5 E-mails from Ups all coming on the same day telling me that different parcels have been destroyed due to a van catching fire in New York ).

For those not so savvy. Never open a link from an E-mail. If you get a call / E-mail from an official sounding company put the phone down or close the E-mail and look up their phone number or google them and contact them directly, they will soon tell you if there is anything wrong.

David

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Hi David (Colwill),
I think it is a good idea to get a web based email address to use when you do not want to give your email address. Some sites require an email address when you want to download information etc. You can then just delete all the mail in that account knowing there will be nothing important. Although we all criticize this website the private message feature enables us to exchange email addresses without posting them them on the forum page and getting spam as a result.

Les.

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

For work I have to have a 'public' email address. We use a proprietary spam filter and Outook and I very rarely get a 'spam' message (as against genuine sales emails which are easy to mark as junk). It is worth investing in this sort of service – the only problem we have is that a handful of people have been blacklisted after having their email addresses hijacked by spammers.

Neil

[Anonymous]

Posted by David Colwill on 02/12/2012 07:44:02:

…….One of the frustrations / delights of this is the constant bombardment with scams. I can receive up to 250 spam E-mails in 1 day most of them trying to hoodwink me in some way…..

Blimey, I must be lucky, I'm surprised if I get more than 1 or 2 spam emails a week. Mind you my home email address looks like a collection of random letters to most people. However, my business email uses my name, at least in part, and I don't get very many on that either. May be I'm considered too poor to be worth spamming.

Both spam emails and 'phone calls seem to go in phases. I haven't had any annoying 'phone calls in the past week about PPI, solar energy or 'free' home insulation, but had 4 or 5 the week before. It's possible that telling them I live in a 15th floor flat, or a caravan, might have something to do with it.

Regards,

Andrew

[David ColwillParticipant @davidcolwill19261]

It's the .com that does it! My website was set up when I thought that people looking for my services ( Theatre ) would find me through it. The reality is that everyone knows everyone and that most of my business is through a couple of big set builders and the rest is people who have heard of me through word of mouth.

The website has been up and running for years now it isn't really needed but why change it? I think that some of the spam has been generated by bots trawling the web and coming across my site, some has come from me advertising in yellow pages ( don't try this unless you wish to be very busy feilding sales calls from all and sundry), a further lot has come from contacts of mine who have had their contacts list stolen, the remainder is me giving out my E-mail.

The spam used to get on my nerves but I use outlook and the spam filter gets most of it. that which it doesn't I make sure I "add sender to blocked senders list" over time it improves.

Anyone who really wants me will make themselves known!

David

[David ColwillParticipant @davidcolwill19261]

Just a sample

Greeting,

I am Anita George am member of the U.S. ARMY USARPAC medical team, which was deployed to Iraq at the beginning of the war in Iraq. I do understand because of the scam going on over the world, it is difficult for one to trust any body am an american beleive me this is real.

For me to proved this to you, see the site below for more information.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/30/iraq-us-troop-withdrawal-celebrations_n_1176330.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm

I will be vivid and coherent in my next message in this regards, meanwhile, could you send me an email confirming that you have visited the site and that you have understood my intentions? I would like you to get back to me with with the following informations;

1. Full Name

2. Address

3.Occupation

4. Age

I do not need your telephone number because I cannot call you, we can only communicate through email.

I will await your reply via my email.

Thanks,

Best Regards

Capt. Anita George

[NJHParticipant @njh]

OK – not postal or internet "nuisance" rubbish but one of many recent "nuisance" 'phone calls.

The caller said they were carrying out some research and asked me what sort of razor I used. I paused for a bit and then told him that I didn't own one as I've had a beard for over 40 years. There as a stunned silence – then " Oh I wasn't expecting you to say that!! …laugh … sorry to have troubled you sir – I hope you have a good day"

I guess that having a job that involves cold calling folk who just wish that you would go away ( or worse!) must be pretty dire – and in this case he got a laugh from it and I've had a bit of a chuckle too.

Norman

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