Recently, I’ve been receiving frequent calls from a foreign call centre pretending to be EE or O2, offering a loyalty bonus.
They are scams.
Ways to Deal With Phone Scams
I enjoy winding up scammers. So I’ve tried various ways to confuse them or waste their time.
Yes, I’ll have 20 of your discounts, please.
And
Sorry, this is my friend’s phone and he doesn’t know I’ve got it.
And
I’m glad you’ve rung. What are you going to do about this fault I’ve had for months? Unless you…
Or I pop them “on hold” until they get fed up.
That’s what I did the other day. I told the scammer I needed to go to the bathroom. Then I hit the mute button, and listened to the background conversation of all the other scammers making calls.
I muted the microphone and put the scammer on hold
Scammer Wants Secret 2FA Code
But then, something unexpected happened.
The scammer hung up.
And then a text message arrived.
The scammer had asked O2 to send a 2FA code to my phone number.
A 2FA is a secret 2-factor authentication number. It’s a one-time access code.
And this secret 2FA code arrived in an SMS text message.
Almost immediately, the scammer rang back to ask me for that code.
The scammer rang me to ask for the 2FA code
Foil the Scammer
Woah! Hang on a minute. No way, Scammer-A!
So I gave her a fake code.
She protested…
That doesn’t work. It isn’t the correct code.
I chuckled.
Of course it doesn’t work. You don’t think I’d give the correct code to a scammer, do you?
She knew she’d been sussed. So she called me a few names her mother would have been embarrassed to hear her say, and she hung up.
The scammer was angry that she’d been foiled
How to Identify a Scam Phone Call
1. The calls are usually from spoofed numbers to make them look authentic. Maybe a UK landline or a UK mobile number. The calling number changes with every call. They’ll not let you see the real number they’re calling from.
2. The caller usually has a foreign accent. The scam call centres are usually offshore. The BBC’s Scam Interceptors has located and identified a major scam call centre in a large Indian city.
3. You can usually hear call-centre background chatter noise from the other scammers making calls.
It’s best to hang up. Or, maybe, if you want to waste their time like I did, perhaps put them “on hold”.
How Not To Lose Your Account to the Scammer
If you don’t want to lose your account to the scammer, DO NOT give them the code from the text message. If they get that, they can take over your account. And they’d do that very quickly!
Never give the 2FA secret code to a caller
Also, NEVER download anything they ask you to. For example, they might ask you to download AnyDesk. That software would allow the scammer to take over your device, and to see everything you type in on it, such as bank details.
If you’re ever in any doubt, it’s always best to hang up. Should the caller have been from the real company, they’ll find another way to contact you.
Anyway, when did you ever receive a genuine call from a service provider, giving you a real thirty per cent discount for being a loyal customer?
It’s usually a 30 per cent increase, isn’t it?
Proof indeed that it’s a scam!
Great advice and very helpful. I’ve recently been getting text messages saying that I have a parcel from the post office but they have 2 postcodes and can’t deliver it with a link. The number has changed 5-6 times. Thankfully it was put in a restricted folder.