Disturbing story here from the
Telegraph concerning
telephone number spoofingFraudsters are targeting bank customers with a new scam using fake caller ID numbers.
The conmen call the customer and pretend to be a representative from their bank or credit card company.
They convince customers the call is from their bank because the caller ID matches a legitimate bank number, often the one printed on the back of a bank card.
The scammers then persuade the customer to hand over sensitive personal and financial information.
Disturbingly, these are freely available on the various app stores meaning it's pretty simple for anyone to do with a determined will. Sold as "fun apps" these allow you to simply change the number that the receiving callers see.
You'd think that phone companies might err on the side of caution and disallow the ability of people to do this but there's no sign yet, in fact it's completely legal according to
these guys .
The American
FCC states that it's illegal to use such things to defraud people! Which is kind of amusing in that the last I heard it was illegal to defraud people anyway, so I'm not sure what a regulation saying it is does to help really, but then IANAL
At the end of the piece, It's good sense to take steps to ensure that you aren't caught out by these people.
How?
- Never give out personal information or agree to hand over your bank cards
- If you receive a call from an organisation and you have any doubts and are concerned then call them from another phone but only after you've checked the accuracy of their number. Go online to the organisations official website and get a number direct from there.
- Never ever, call them back from the same phone. Scammers often stay on the line and fake dial tones and respond as if you are a new caller, even though they're fully aware of who you are as it is often they who have just called you. They'd never even hung up and deficiencies in fixed line phone systems mean that they can stay on the line.
There's a good list of websites here that can help too. Spend five minutes checking them out, you might just save you or someone you love from financial loss.
About Identity Theft (A public interest website on identity theft)
Bank Safe Online(contains a whole range of information and materials concerning keeping your finances safe online)
Get Safe OnlineCard Watch Insurance Fraud Bureau - Cheatline(if you know anyone involved in committing insurance fraud)
Land Registry Public Guide 17 - How to safeguard against property fraudOperation Archway(City of London Police operation specifically targeting Boiler Room Scams)
www.identitytheft.org.ukIdentity Theft Prevention Advice for individuals
www.millersmiles.co.uk(a web directory of phishing scams and emails that have been sent historically and recently)
