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Scam phone call?

Cazza21
Tuning in

Just received a telephone call from [REMOVED], the caller purporting to be from Virgin Media.  I  listened to what he had to say for a while as it sounded as though call could be genuine. The basis of the call was to tell me that my broadband was insecure and being used by other users but, as the caller had a strong Indian accent it was difficult to fully understand what was being said.  It was not until he asked me to log in so he could take control of my computer that I realised this was a scam.

[MOD EDIT: information has been removed from this post. Please review the Forum Guidelines if needed]

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

coenoby
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

@Cazza21 wrote:

Just received a telephone call from 01420 xxxxxx, the caller purporting to be from Virgin Media.  ..... It was not until he asked me to log in so he could take control of my computer that I realised this was a scam.


Firstly, well done for spotting the scam. However, you as soon as they said they were calling from VM because your broadband was insecure it was obvious it was a scam. Internet services providers such as Virgin Media  simply do not make cold calls to customers to tell them there is a problem with their broadband account.

I have just checked and that number is a genuine number held by a user in Alton Hampshire. The only problem is that the individual or organisation who holds that number is not connected in any way with the scammer who called you. 😉

For future reference, scammers always spoof (falsify) the number that appears in caller display. Firstly to avoid anyone tracing the call back to them and also to disguise the fact that they are almost certainly calling from overseas. Making it look as if they are calling from within the UK simply makes them seem more legitimate.

Sadly, by posting the number on an open forum it means that the innocent party in Alton may well start receiving abusive calls from people who mistakenly think they are talking to the scammer. Therefore I have flagged your post to the Forum Moderators to redact the number.

Coenoby

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media.

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See where this Helpful Answer was posted

11 REPLIES 11

CEMO1
Joining in

I just had the same call too. Definitely seems like a scam as there is nothing wrong with my services.

coenoby
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

@Cazza21 wrote:

Just received a telephone call from 01420 xxxxxx, the caller purporting to be from Virgin Media.  ..... It was not until he asked me to log in so he could take control of my computer that I realised this was a scam.


Firstly, well done for spotting the scam. However, you as soon as they said they were calling from VM because your broadband was insecure it was obvious it was a scam. Internet services providers such as Virgin Media  simply do not make cold calls to customers to tell them there is a problem with their broadband account.

I have just checked and that number is a genuine number held by a user in Alton Hampshire. The only problem is that the individual or organisation who holds that number is not connected in any way with the scammer who called you. 😉

For future reference, scammers always spoof (falsify) the number that appears in caller display. Firstly to avoid anyone tracing the call back to them and also to disguise the fact that they are almost certainly calling from overseas. Making it look as if they are calling from within the UK simply makes them seem more legitimate.

Sadly, by posting the number on an open forum it means that the innocent party in Alton may well start receiving abusive calls from people who mistakenly think they are talking to the scammer. Therefore I have flagged your post to the Forum Moderators to redact the number.

Coenoby

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media.

Have I helped? Click Mark as Helpful Answer or use Kudos to say thanks

David_Bn
Forum Team
Forum Team

Sorry to hear of the scam phone call @Cazza21,

 

We are aware of scammer’s currently cold calling customers of our services, and rival companies, posing at Virgin Media. Do feel free to take a look at our handy literature to assist you further

 

Kindest regards,

David_Bn

coenoby
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

@David_Bn wrote:

Sorry to hear of the scam phone call @Cazza21,

 

We are aware of scammer’s currently cold calling customers of our services, and rival companies, posing at Virgin Media. 


David, can you arrange for the number in the first post to be redacted please? I have flagged it to the Mods.

Coenoby

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media.

Have I helped? Click Mark as Helpful Answer or use Kudos to say thanks

Hi @coenoby,

Thank you for flagging it. This will be addressed in due course.

Thanks,
 


Zach - Forum Team
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As of 22:21 the number is tagged in the original post.


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coenoby
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

@MrHalfAsleep wrote:

As of 22:21 the number is tagged in the original post.


Good spot. 👍

@ModTeam 

As per MrHalfAsleep's post, the spoofed phone number still appears as a tag in the original post.

Coenoby

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media.

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John_GS
Forum Team
Forum Team

Hi - it's been removed.

 

Best,

John_GS
Forum Team


Need a helpful hand to show you how to make a payment? Check out our guide - How to pay my Virgin Media bill

I've had these calls many times this year. I started off being irate with them but now play the game of seeing 'how long can I waste their time'. eg "Thank you for calling back. My broadband doesn't work at all and it's been over a week since I reported it to you. When are you going to fix it?" Usually prompts an attempt to get me to switch it off and back on. What lights are showing on your router,sir? Then they try to get me to use my mobile phone internet access.

Last week they had switched to being from Open Reach which apparently now deals with ALL internet connections including Virgin. I argued the point. I only managed 2 minutes 38 seconds this time before the initially very polite caller got patronising and progressed to telling me "You can F*** off sir" before ending the call!

Virgin don't seem to have any system to detect these spoofed numbers and I'm getting a dozen a month. Unfortunately, I can't ignore these unrecognised or withheld numbers as our hospitals and GP surgery withhold their numbers and I'm expecting calls re appointments etc.. Even if it is from abroad I have to answer as I have relatives working abroad. So I use their scam attempts as a little bit of amusement. Funny how all these foreign sounding people never ever have a foreign name. always David or Patrick or Michael. And sometimes I just pick up the phone and answer in Welsh. "Bore da, twll tin yn siarad" !