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Scam phone calls

lindyloo7
Joining in

Hi there, I had a phone call this morning on my landline from a decidedly Indian gent who said he was from virgin media and that there was a problem with unauthorised use of my internet connection. Now I am generally very wary of these type of calls but I inadvertently confirmed I was a customer then my alarm bells started and I hung up.  My worry is having had a computer since dial up days, can these people access my computer with the phone number

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

goslow
Alessandro Volta

This was a scam as you have identified already.

They will not be able to access your computer simply by knowing your phone number.

VM do not make unsolicited tech support calls out of the blue, nor would they ever require remote access to your computer, nor would they require your banking details.

Since you have had the one call, they will almost certainly try again and it may be via another route (claiming to be Amazon, Microsoft etc.)

See page 20 and 21 in the booklet below from the Metropolitan Police which explains the scam (as well as other common scams)

https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/central/advice/fraud/met/the-little-book-of-...

Best approach with all scammers is to hang up immediately and not talk to them.

See where this Helpful Answer was posted

9 REPLIES 9

goslow
Alessandro Volta

This was a scam as you have identified already.

They will not be able to access your computer simply by knowing your phone number.

VM do not make unsolicited tech support calls out of the blue, nor would they ever require remote access to your computer, nor would they require your banking details.

Since you have had the one call, they will almost certainly try again and it may be via another route (claiming to be Amazon, Microsoft etc.)

See page 20 and 21 in the booklet below from the Metropolitan Police which explains the scam (as well as other common scams)

https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/central/advice/fraud/met/the-little-book-of-...

Best approach with all scammers is to hang up immediately and not talk to them.

Thank you goslow that was all I was really worried about, I had visions of people or a remote computer downloading everything as soon as I turned it on!!

Hi @lindyloo7,

 

Welcome to our community forums and thank you for your first posts.

 

Sorry to hear you experienced this scam call. We are however glad to see  @golsow was able to help in regards to this.

 

You may also find the following link useful https://www.virginmedia.com/help/fraudulent-calls . 

 

Please let us know if the calls persists.

 

Thanks,

Akua_A
Forum Team

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SH3user
Superfast

I have just had the same call from a UK number (not) giving me the same rubbish. I went along with it and was transferred to their technician (not) that would sort out the problem. He directed me to type in 2 internet sites and go to them (not) and when I informed them that they were blocked as they contained malicious software they made an excuse that they were having technical issues (not) and kept directing me to other sites. I informed them that when they have sorted out their (fictitious) technical issues I would try again later and blocked their number. They rang again numerous times on a no number line then seemed to give up. If VM are interested I have the initial spoofed number and two of the websites they tried to direct me to. I look forward to wasting more of their time when I am bored.

Tom_F
Forum Team (Retired)
Forum Team (Retired)

Hi SH3user, thanks for being vigilant. Unfortunately confirming the numbers won't help as they will be spoofed from another  unsuspecting person with the same mobile number. However we'd appreciate you reporting anything like this via this link: virg.in/reportspam so the relevant teams can look into it.

 

Tom 

goslow
Alessandro Volta

@Tom_F wrote:

Hi SH3user, thanks for being vigilant. Unfortunately confirming the numbers won't help as they will be spoofed from another  unsuspecting person with the same mobile number. However we'd appreciate you reporting anything like this via this link: virg.in/reportspam so the relevant teams can look into it.


Not sure how useful the link is when the final paragraph advises

If you need to report a phone call you’ve received from someone you believe is pretending to be Virgin Media, please contact our Customer Services team who will be able to advise on the call’s legitimacy as well as report it for further investigation - virginmedia.com/contact. Fraudulent caller reports submitted through this form may not be actioned

and there are no specific sections on the form for scam phone calls. Might suit for the questionable website links though.

Hi @goslow,

You can contact the customer service team as it advises, and you can also head here for further information and support regarding potential fraudulent calls claiming to be from Virgin Media.

If you know the number that contacted you then we can confirm if it's a legitimate Virgin Media number, however, as my colleague advised earlier, there's always the potential that it may have been spoofed.

Thanks,
 


Zach - Forum Team
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goslow
Alessandro Volta

@Zach_R wrote:

Hi @goslow,

You can contact the customer service team as it advises, and you can also head here for further information and support regarding potential fraudulent calls claiming to be from Virgin Media.

If you know the number that contacted you then we can confirm if it's a legitimate Virgin Media number, however, as my colleague advised earlier, there's always the potential that it may have been spoofed.

Thanks,
 


Thanks but the person most-recently seeking help on this topic on how to report fraudulent phone numbers and websites was @SH3user at message #5, not myself.

I also got a scam call from Virgin Media, guy talking from a Indian call centre. He said i have a problem with my VM account, i told him your a scammer and put the phone. Then he rang back saying why did put the phone down, i said you are a scammer. No more calls since. I got the phone number but i except they change them everyday.