A scam phone calls and emails discussion.

[Mcr Warrior]

My partner has been receiving text messages from Markerstudy alleging she has been in an accident and there is a third party claiming against her, except she isn't insured with them and hasn't had an accident. Has anyone else had this?

May be genuine, might not be. Perhaps Markerstudy Insurance have been supplied with an incorrect mobile number, which just happens to be that of your partner. Might possibly need sorting.

 

[dangie]

I have also had an unspecified parking fine from a mystery council for a mystery car scam

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jul 2025 ==

Got asked for £20

I had one some years ago. My make & model of car. Same colour. Correct number plate. Parking fine was in Camborne Cornwall. Fine was from a registered car park company. Emailed them back saying I’d never been to Camborne and asked for photographic evidence. Didn’t hear another thing from them.

 

[Eyersey468]

May be genuine, might not be. Perhaps Markerstudy Insurance have been supplied with an incorrect mobile number, which just happens to be that of your partner. Might possibly need sorting.

The thing is there's no mention of when the alleged incident happened and it specifically mentions her car

 

[swt_passenger]

I had one some years ago. My make & model of car. Same colour. Correct number plate. Parking fine was in Camborne Cornwall. Fine was from a registered car park company. Emailed them back saying I’d never been to Camborne and asked for photographic evidence. Didn’t hear another thing from them.

I had an invitation to my local police station in Hampshire back in the early 90s, driving off a forecourt without paying for a full tank, the incident was up in Blackburn. I’d never been to Blackburn anyway, (still haven’t!), and was easily proved to be abroad at the time. But my car had been first registered in Blackburn, and someone had an exact duplicate, both model and colour, even down to the same dealer name on the plates.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I had an invitation to my local police station in Hampshire back in the early 90s, driving off a forecourt without paying for a full tank, the incident was up in Blackburn. I’d never been to Blackburn anyway, (still haven’t!), and was easily proved to be abroad at the time. But my car had been first registered in Blackburn, and someone had an exact duplicate, both model and colour, even down to the same dealer name on the plates.

Was the registration number displayed identical? If so, are we talking about cloned plates or dealer error at first registration?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Was the registration number displayed identical? If so, are we talking about cloned plates or dealer error at first registration?

That would definitely be cloned plates; the criminals always put them on a matching vehicle because if they didn't they'd be much easier to catch on a casual registration check.

 

[swt_passenger]

Was the registration number displayed identical? If so, are we talking about cloned plates or dealer error at first registration?

Yes I believe so. It was a white Cavalier hatch, must have been hundreds around at the time…

 

[Full Standing]

Last year, I had a couple of scam calls to my then new Lebara phone number. An automatic voice claimed to be from the home office, saying that there'd be a problem with a UK visa I would hold. I always hung up without performing any kind of interaction, and at some point the calls stopped.

 

[Buzby]

Lebara phone number. An automatic voice claimed to be from the home office, saying that there'd be a problem with a UK visa I would hold

Quite good targetting when you think of it as their defined number range has minimal 'sterilisation' before reuse, as well as their market (mostly PAYG) targets those who want cheap rates to call 'home'. I would suspect it was simply random dialling of Lebara numbers in sequence to find those that answered or had voicemail.

 

[DannyMich2018]

Of course it's a Spam but not sure if anyone's had an email from an Omar Waleed, Special Business Offer, mentions in it "Financial Bond and assets acquisition...." deleted of course. I also have a run of regular Spam emails then non for a few weeks, Anyone else notice this?

 

[londonbridge]

I also have a run of regular Spam emails then non for a few weeks, Anyone else notice this?

Yes, that’s happened to me as well.

 

[GatwickDepress]

Outlook is getting ridiculous for spam emails now. Looks like it's even ignoring the rules I've set up to filter the most obvious ones.

Thinking about moving to a paid provider and use custom domain instead.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

The '+' feature isn't universal. Gmail does it, not sure about other providers, so worth checking directly with them if not Gmail

Just done some testing, works for all ones I tested it on which were;
Hotmail.co.uk,
Hotmail.com,
Gmail.com,
Outlook.com,
and my work email.

Sounds like a great tool I can make good use of

 

[najaB]

Just done some testing, works for all ones I tested it on which were;
Hotmail.co.uk,
Hotmail.com,
Gmail.com,
Outlook.com,
and my work email.

Sounds like a great tool I can make good use of

Something to keep in mind is that + aliasing isn't necessarily respected outbound. So if you reply to a message delivered to your plus alias the reply may well go out with your main mailbox address in the 'From' field.

 

[Buzby]

Just received an SMS but the RCS codes play havoc with the forum formatting!

Allowance : be
- , the DWP has - policy cope the cost , including gas bills . Those are eligible -, directly the ' does . that you eligible, please make sure your 18 July using . not your 2025, will be deemed to the subsidy retained.

Application link: ️[redacted]


It was sent from +56 98767 8176, and it was the first RCS SMS I’ve received (complete with icons and emboldneed words). Apart from only having 1 day to respond, the ‘To’ field was stacked with 10 other recipients - all with the same network code. Reported and blocked. At least they have a sense of humour - +56 code is Chile

 

[styles]

Today I learnt of a genius feature Monzo has.

If you open the Monzo app while you're on a phone call, and you're not on the phone to Monzo, the app will tell you that you're not speaking to Monzo, so if somebody is telling you they're from Monzo, hang up.

Taken from this LinkedIn post (can't believe I'm actually sharing a LinkedIn post): https://www.linkedin.com/posts/magd...ouraldesign-activity-7348313759221727233-PMRZ

 

[ainsworth74]

If you open the Monzo app while you're on a phone call, and you're not on the phone to Monzo, the app will tell you that you're not speaking to Monzo, so if somebody is telling you they're from Monzo, hang up.

A good feature but there will absolutely still be some people who choose to believe the person on the phone rather than what their bank is telling them. Watching some scam buster type videos it's staggering how hard it can be to persuade people who are being actively scammed that they're being scammed. They can even get quite nasty with the people who are trying to intervene!

 

[styles]

A good feature but there will absolutely still be some people who choose to believe the person on the phone rather than what their bank is telling them. Watching some scam buster type videos it's staggering how hard it can be to persuade people who are being actively scammed that they're being scammed. They can even get quite nasty with the people who are trying to intervene!

Oh absolutely.

Late last year there was some sort of scam awareness week/month. Every time I switched Radio 4 on there was some sort of discussion about scams.

They often had bank staff on air who would detail how they've asked customers half a dozen times if they're really sure they want to send this £10k payment to somebody they have never met, yet some people still say yes I'm sure.

It almost feels like an impossible problem to solve, especially when the money is sent overseas, and some foreign banks really don't care that they're handling scam money.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

A good feature but there will absolutely still be some people who choose to believe the person on the phone rather than what their bank is telling them. Watching some scam buster type videos it's staggering how hard it can be to persuade people who are being actively scammed that they're being scammed. They can even get quite nasty with the people who are trying to intervene!

Quite so. However, when they actually find their determination has cost them money, that might show them the error of their ways.

 

[Steddenm]

Oh absolutely.

Late last year there was some sort of scam awareness week/month. Every time I switched Radio 4 on there was some sort of discussion about scams.

They often had bank staff on air who would detail how they've asked customers half a dozen times if they're really sure they want to send this £10k payment to somebody they have never met, yet some people still say yes I'm sure.

It almost feels like an impossible problem to solve, especially when the money is sent overseas, and some foreign banks really don't care that they're handling scam money.

The BBC do Scam Week every year across Morning Live, the One Show and Radio.

 

[jon0844]

It's frustrating that so many companies are so bad at data protection even with GDPR and the potential for massive fines.

I suspect the key here is the word 'potential'. I expect all regulators are underfunded and understaffed, so many companies never have any action taken - or at best a 'don't do it again' warning. I am sure if it becomes a high-profile-in-the-media style breach then the result is different.

I once looked at joining a Bannatyne's gym. They don't put the prices on the website so you have to contact them, which they then use for marketing (dubious that this is allowed in its own right). Anyway, I fill out the form, get the phone call with prices, and say I'll think about it. A few days later, I get a marketing email from them as a prospective customer. But it wasn't only me who got the email - it was sent to around 50 people, all with our email addresses and names in the 'To' field instead of a Bcc or individual mail merge emails.

Again, I wonder if anything is done. This is a common thing that happens with countless companies, but I suspect that without proof of it being standard practice it can be brushed off as a mistake and a one-off.

Few months back I hired a car. I returned the car, accidentally left some cheap toolkit in the boot. Helpfully they tried to contact me, fine. I didn't answer 2 calls spreading over 15 hours because I was busy. As a result, they phoned my 'Next of Kin', didn't go into any useful detail about why they were calling me, and informed my mother that they'd been unable to get hold of me for 15 hours. My mum phones me panicked thinking I've crashed a car and am in hospital or something. Like surely people don't think 'next of kin' just means 'backup contact number'? The regional manager agreed with me that it should be reserved for much more serious needs than a £20 Argos toolset left in a boot.

Using the next of kin number sounds smart as a way of helping get some lost property back to the owner, but wouldn't common sense tell you to tell the person you are calling that there's nothing to worry about and to ask the person who hired the car to call in? I can understand them not wanting to say what it was about, although I am not sure that would be a breach - and maybe you'd want it to be in the terms that if they need to contact you about lost property, you give permission for them to discuss with anyone on the numbers you give.

To work out where spam emails come from, I've started using the '+' feature in Gmail. If an email address is johnsmith@gmail.com, you can use johnsmith+amazon@gmail.com when joining Amazon, the emails will go to the same inbox, but you'll see it was sent to johnsmith+amazon@gmail.com. This way, if the email address is shared or stolen, and spam starts arriving addressed to johnsmith+amazon@gmail.com, we know the email was leaked from Amazon somehow. I've made a few DPA complaints on the back of this after finding websites have shared, sold, or had stolen contact info.

I must admit I haven't done this for some time, but it's a great trick and has identified the 'leaker' in the past for me.

Most of these things get an apology and a promise to change processes so I don't bother escalating things or whatever, but I do wonder sometimes if they do actually change their working practices, or just say they will then forget about it.

And this is why I suspect enforcement is next to useless and doesn't really worry companies about breaching the regulations.

 

[ainsworth74]

Oh absolutely.

Late last year there was some sort of scam awareness week/month. Every time I switched Radio 4 on there was some sort of discussion about scams.

They often had bank staff on air who would detail how they've asked customers half a dozen times if they're really sure they want to send this £10k payment to somebody they have never met, yet some people still say yes I'm sure.

It almost feels like an impossible problem to solve, especially when the money is sent overseas, and some foreign banks really don't care that they're handling scam money.

Yeah that's the truth really, we can do all sorts of things to try and protect people but there will always be people who fall victim. T

o be honest one thing that it would be nice for the Government to be working on in their various trade deals with countries like India would be getting agreements for them to really start to tackle the various criminal gangs that do these things. One of the more frustrating aspects is that often these scam baiters seem to hand over these gangs on a silver platter to Indian authorities and very little seems to happen. Either because of potential corruption or because it's not a priority to the Indian police (after all it's a bunch of rich, to their mind, foreigners getting scammed, who cares?).

Quite so. However, when they actually find their determination has cost them money, that might show them the error of their ways.

Definitely but by then it's often sadly too late for anything to be done. And it's still somewhat heart-breaking even if you're tearing your hair out there obstinance, they're often older people who seem to be falling victim or somehow otherwise vulnerable (maybe dealing with a health issue or similar), so the sort of people who may not have had much to begin with so recovering from the loss of that money will be even harder.

 

[londonbridge]

Just received an SMS but the RCS codes play havoc with the forum formatting!

Allowance : be
- , the DWP has - policy cope the cost , including gas bills . Those are eligible -, directly the ' does . that you eligible, please make sure your 18 July using . not your 2025, will be deemed to the subsidy retained.

Application link: ️[redacted]


It was sent from +56 98767 8176, and it was the first RCS SMS I’ve received (complete with icons and emboldneed words). Apart from only having 1 day to respond, the ‘To’ field was stacked with 10 other recipients - all with the same network code. Reported and blocked. At least they have a sense of humour - +56 code is Chile

Just had another work from home opportunity message sent from a number starting +63, which is the Philippines…….like yours, reported and blocked.

 

[DannyMich2018]

I had a call on Tuesday around 09.00, I missed it, it rang a few seconds later and I answered and there was an automated message saying "please add me on WhatsApp". No way at all. Was a mobile number which I didn't recognise. Anyone else had this?

 

[ainsworth74]

I had a call on Tuesday around 09.00, I missed it, it rang a few seconds later and I answered and there was an automated message saying "please add me on WhatsApp". No way at all. Was a mobile number which I didn't recognise. Anyone else had this?

Yes I've had that one a few times now. I assume, seeing as it was a female voice, that it's attempting to drum up business for a pig butchering scam.

 

[Bald Rick]

I had a call on Tuesday around 09.00, I missed it, it rang a few seconds later and I answered and there was an automated message saying "please add me on WhatsApp". No way at all. Was a mobile number which I didn't recognise. Anyone else had this?

Repeatedly.

I’ve today had several texts from a new number saying “Dad, this is my new number”

Do people really fall for things like that?

 

[Eyersey468]

Repeatedly.

I’ve today had several texts from a new number saying “Dad, this is my new number”

Do people really fall for things like that?

I guess they must do otherwise the scammers wouldn't do it

 

[Cdd89]

Repeatedly.

I’ve today had several texts from a new number saying “Dad, this is my new number”

Do people really fall for things like that?

The approaches being a bit unconvincing is not an accident.

It screens out the victims to ensure they only the most gullible reply — and that is exactly who they want to talk to.

 

[swt_passenger]

As the clock ticks round to 1800 on a Saturday, the phone rings.
Her ”hi, this is Jo the energy adviser for your local area…”
Me “so where is my local area?”
Her [short silence] “the south”
Me “you haven’t a clue, have you Jo, just like the last time you called?“
line goes dead

 

[Acfb]

I had a call last week around 17.30 calling to talk to a relative about NS&I. It was a Halifax number (01422). I didn't recognise the area code so being narked and about to cook my dinner, I put the phone down.