It's important to always be aware of the latest scams and tactics used by scammers to trick you into giving them your hard-earned cash or personal information. You should always be on your guard, here are some handy hints n tips to help.
DON'T FORGET, IF IN DOUBT...
Hang up
Think calmly about what you are being told, and ask yourself if it makes sense. Don’t give out any personal details. If it feels wrong, hang up.
Make Tea
Making a cup of tea is the perfect opportunity to get away from the phone, pause and reflect on what to do next.
Call back
If the caller claimed to be from a company, call the official number (not the number you were called by) and ask whether they’ve called you.
Scam email
We take your security very seriously, so if you've received an email pretending to be from TalkTalk, please let us know.
- Use your TalkTalk account number to prove a call is genuine
- Ask you to provide your full password - we'll only ever ask for two digits in order to protect your security
- Ask for your bank details to process a refund - if you're a TalkTalk customer, your bank details are already registered on our systems
- Ask you to send us money through services such as Moneygram or the Western Union. Scammers do this to prevent transactions from being traced back to them
With our free calling feature Caller Display, you can see the person who is calling you before you pick up the phone. Always be on guard from someone who is calling who you don’t know, if in doubt just hang up.
With our calling feature Last Caller Barring you can easily block the last person who called you by dialling 14258 for free.
Always get the details from a trusted source such as the official website or your latest bill. If you receive a call that feels suspicious, hang up and call back on the official number. Phone a friend on a trusted number first, to make sure the previous caller has hung up.
TalkTalk will NEVER call you and ask you to enter a code into your computer.
Often scammers use sites such as TeamViewer.com to download harmful software onto your devices. If you have our free service TalkTalk Homesafe you will automatically have our scam protection tool to avoid these websites.
However, if you think you have TeamViewer installed due to scammers on your devices you can follow a simple guide on how to uninstall TeamViewer to avoid giving access in the future.
Further reading
Here's some links to third party resources you may find useful in learning more about scammers:
Citizens Advice - Spotting a scam
Get Safe Online - Telephone banking fraud
TalkTalk's Beat the scammers Hub
Scam techniques to be aware of...
Always stay one step ahead of scammers by finding out the techniques they often use
You will receive an automated call claiming to be from TalkTalk advising you have a problem with your service and to press 1 to be connected to an Engineer. If you then press 1 you will be connected to a premium rate number which charges you a high premium price on the phone bill.
If you receive a call from TalkTalk and are in doubt, just hang up and call us back from your home phone by dialling 150. You can also make an enquiry with the PSA about premium charges.
Scammers may try to persuade you to provide personal info by telling you that you’re due a refund. They often use tools such as Western Union or MoneyGram so the money transferred can’t be traced back to them.
If a caller tells you they’re from TalkTalk and asks for banking and personal details, hang up immediately – we’ll NEVER ask for your bank details in order to process a refund, if you’re a customer your bank details will already be registered on our systems.
If you’ve received a call asking for your bank details, this is most likely a scam. If you’re ever unsure, hang up and call the company back on their official number.
If you need to supply account details to us in order to set up or change up a direct debit instruction, you can do this through My Account, or call us on the number displayed on your bill.
With more and more people falling victim to this scam, it’s definitely one to watch out for.
Scammers call you pretending to be from a legitimate company such as your broadband provider or a tech company such as Microsoft. They might claim there’s an urgent problem with your computer or internet connection that needs to be fixed immediately.
Step 1: They'll instruct you to press the Windows button on your computer and then the letter R.
Step 2: They’ll then ask you to type in the following letters EVENTVWR. This shows you lots of errors and warnings, which are all perfectly normal. However, they might then claim you have a major technical problem.
Step 3: You're likely to then be asked to go to a website such as:
- TeamViewer
- LogMeIn
- AnyDesk
- AMMMYY
- King Viewer
They’ll then ask you to download a piece of software that’ll give them remote access to your computer. When this is installed and scammers ask you to provide an ID code - that's it. The scammer now has full control of your computer.
Step 4: They might then claim you’re due a refund as a goodwill gesture for the trouble you’ve been experiencing and ask you to log in to your online bank account.
Step 5: It’ll seem that you’ve been refunded too much money, for example, £1,250 instead of £125, and you’ll be asked to return the difference through legitimate services such as Western Union or MoneyGram.
In reality, they’re transferring money out of your account that you’re unlikely to see again.
When directed to a website, make sure you’re definitely on the right site. Scam websites will often be of poor quality, however, some false replicas look identical. If in doubt, leave the website!
Some of the most common sites used by scammers are infosis.net/ and teamviewer.com.
Don’t let anyone rush or pressure you into buying a service or product, they could be scamming you.
Returning a call to a premium number is a classic scam. By calling back, scammers can keep you on the line even after you’ve disconnected, leaving you stuck paying the charges. If you receive a voicemail asking you to call back a premium rate number (e.g. 0845 or 0843), it's worth double checking the charges before you dial. Use the number checker to find out who owns the number and what it’ll cost to call back.
When you receive a call from a spoofed number, the caller ID will usually display a UK number but you could be speaking to an international caller. Changing the caller ID makes a call look a lot more convincing than using an international or unknown number. Scammers have been known to spoof TalkTalk’s number, so if you’re ever unsure about a call, hang up and contact us straight away.
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