Scam calls can happen at any time and often leave you, the TalkTalk customer, left feeling hurt, upset and out of pocket. So, we have made a simple three-step guide for if you are worried about a phone call. Hang up, Make tea and call back the official number.
What are scam calls?
It’s not always easy to recognise a scam, different tactics, trusting personalities and pressing phone callers to make it difficult to distinguish between an actual company and a potential scammer.
Threats can come in all forms so it's important to stay on your guard when someone phones your home saying they are a trusted company. Companies such as TalkTalk will never ask you for your full account number, password or bank details. Alongside this, we will also never ask you to use a third party money transfer company such as the Western Union or MoneyGram.
Scammers will use a variety of tricks to get hold of your information, so below is a few tricks to keep an eye out for:
- Saying they're from your Broadband Supplier or a Tech Support Company
- Saying you've got a technical problem, such as a faulty router and your computer has been hacked
- Asking you to press Windows and Rand type EVENTVR trying to scare you by showing a list of errors, which are actually quite normal
- Asking you to visit a website that lets them access your computer, such as TeamViewer.com, support.me, AnyDesk.com and Ammyy.com
- Advising that you're due a refund for a technical problem
- Telling you they’ve transferred too much money and ask you to send it back, generally using Western Union or Money Gram
TalkTalk will never:
- 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.
What you can do to stay safe
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You can utilize the privacy features that come free of charge to your TalkTalk account. This can be activated by My Account and includes last caller barring, caller display, Anonymous caller reject and withhold my telephone number.
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Always get the details from a trusted source, such as the official website, your latest bill, bank card or statement. If you receive a call that feels suspicious, hang up and call back on the official number.
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Scamming is a criminal offence, so if you think you’ve been a victim you should contact the police. You can also contact Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and internet crime reporting centre, which can be reached on 0300 123 2040 or via Action Fraud.
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We also offer all our customers the opportunity to change your telephone number free of charge. If you're fed up with nuisance or scam calls, then contact us on 0345 172 0088 now to change your number and within 72 hours those calls could stop.
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We are also helping with the fight against scammers, as no one wants to fall prey to these criminals. For more information on what TalkTalk are doing to stop scammers click here.
