A cheeky scam doing the rounds over here at the moment
Police Report.
The reason this is working so well is it plays on your good will!
Picture the scene:-
>>>>You are sitting at home and there is a knock at the door. On answering
>>>>it you are confronted by a respectable looking woman in a suit, who is
>>>>lightly
>>>>distressed. She explains that her car has broken down further down the
>>>>road and she needs to contact her husband to come to her aid. Is it at
>>>>all
>>>>possible to use your phone to call him?
>>>>
>>>>You allow her to use the phone, but being the suspicious type you stand
>>>>with
>>>>
>>>>her as she makes the call. She dials the number, and asks to be put
>>>>through to Mr Smith / Brown / Stevens (Whatever). She holds the line for
>>>>about
>>>>thirty seconds. She continues, "In that case can you ask him to leave
>>>>the meeting for a minute I need to speak to him quite urgently." She
>>>>apologies again and explains they are getting him out of a meeting.
>>>>
>>>>A couple of minutes goes by and she starts to speak to her husband. She
>>>>explains the situation to him, tells him what has happened to the car,
>>>>is annoyed because she now can't get to her meeting, and asks what she
>>>>should do now. She listens for a few seconds and then says, "Well as
>>>>soon as the meeting finishes can you come to Cardiff Road / Leicester
>>>>Road / Surrey
>>>>Street (Whatever), where the car has broken down. Another few seconds go
>>>>by,
>>>>
>>>>"OK, I'll see you in about twenty minutes then."
>>>>
>>>>She put the phone down, and thanks you ever so much for your kind
>>>>assistance, even offering you a pound for your trouble, but of course
>>>>you decline, it's no trouble.
>>>>
>>>>She leaves and everything is fine.
>>>>
>>>>Or is it?
>>>>The day or week before knocking on your door she set up her own premium
>>>>rate
>>>>
>>>>line with a telephone company at the cost of about £150, and she has
>>>>dictated that calls to that number should be charged at £50 per minute.
>>>>She
>>>>has dialled that number. The conversation she has had with her "husband"
>>>>is entirely fictitious, there is a pre-recorded voice message on the
>>>>other end
>>>>to give you the impression she is talking to someone. She has been on
>>>>the phone for about five minutes, that call just cost you £250, the
>>>>majority of
>>>>which goes into her pocket, and the first you know about it is when you
>>>>get your bill a month later.
>>>>
>>>>To rub a bit of salt into the wound,she hasn't even committed a criminal
>>>>offence. You've given her permission to use your phone. 5 occasions in
>>>>Luton
>>>>
>>>>where this has been reported in the last couple of weeks .
>>>>
>>>>Would anyone reading this please pass it on to friends and colleagues
>>>>etc. otherwise it could cost someone a lot of money.
>>>>
>>>>PC Paul Toseland
>>>>Corby Business Anti-Crime Network Administrator
