Coronavirus utility bill scam

Mon 13 Apr 2020, 13:51

There is information about various coronavirus scams on the WODC website here: https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/communities-and-leisure/coronavirus-community-support/

Sun 12 Apr 2020, 10:12

I haven't reported it yet as we're still trying to get in touch with SSE to sort out the account info. They don't answer their phone for anything other than an emergency, so the only way to contact them is online and then you have to wait for someone to respond. I'm not actually expecting to hear from them until Tuesday at the earliest because I doubt they have the staff to reply quicker and suspect they may have even fewer on over the Easter weekend. 

Steve is definitely right about Indian call centres. Maybe the only good thing to come out of the lockdown!

Sat 11 Apr 2020, 18:02

The primary reason there are fewer scam calls is the lock down in India where most of the calls emanate from and the call centres where they operate from have been closed down too. The problem with UK operators blocking spam call numbers is the way that modern phone systems work. The way the gateway systems operate is that the originating number can be "spoofed". That is, by the time it crosses the multifarious different networks operated by different companies it's impossible to tell the real source number. Of course, the numbers do get blacklisted, and do get blocked, but those scam caller can simply start spoofing a different number.

There is no longer one centrally controlled phone network, even in the UK. There are many different operators, all interconnected and calls can be injected into the network via Internet gateways operated by many organisations.

Blacklisting numbers is a game of whack-a-mole. Even blocking international numbers doesn't work, as these call centres can just spoof being a UK number.

So, I suspect when the Indian lock-down is eased, "normal service" will be resumed.

nb. It's not just the UK that gets scam calls from Indian call centres; it happens in the USA too.

Sat 11 Apr 2020, 16:05 (last edited on Sat 11 Apr 2020, 16:07)

Thank you, Harriet. I hope you have reported this to the police. 

It is worth checking the phone number on the Who called me? Website. It would be interesting to know if it matched other telephone numbers that endlessly try to scam people.

Oddly, I have had fewer scam phone calls since lockdown started. Perhaps the letter is an indication that BT is stopping scams more efficiently than usual. 

Sat 11 Apr 2020, 13:27

Thank you for the info, Harriet. 

Sat 11 Apr 2020, 13:21

Just a heads up that my mother has received a scam letter purportedly from SSE saying she owes them almost £2k, threatening legal proceedings once the lockdown is over and giving a number to call if the virus is making it difficult for you to pay your bills. The logo at the top is a few years out of date. 

It won't impact tech savvy people who do all their bills online but could easily affect older people who may not have family to help them at the moment.