Months ago I wrote a story after receiving a scam call on my mobile. The call came from a UK landline number and featured a computerised voice telling me that my home was under CCTV surveillance. It also stated that the Inland Revenue were starting proceedings against me. Apparently I’d been subjected to “a legal lawsuit” with me “as the suspect”.
It’s properly scary for those that receive these calls. They use phrases and terms which strike fear into those unlucky enough to receive them. Today, I got another, this time from 0208 123 3817. Returning the call sends you to an answer phone.
I’ve made a recording of the call. It went straight to my answerphone because I didn’t recognise the number. I do this all too much now, and it’s a sad thing to say about the world we live in but – if I get a call from a number which isn’t in my contacts list, I’ll immediately drop it.
The message can be heard below. My answer phone cuts the start of the call slightly as the automated robot “speaking” didn’t wait for the tone. It tells me that “Important paperwork has been undelivered and returned unsigned” so there’s now “a warrant for your arrest” and the issue is “very time sensitive”. This is nasty stuff. Very nasty.
The advice I’d give, if you’re ever in any doubt about these things, is ask yourself whether a Government agency really use a text-to-speech system to inform me of such an important and critical issue like this? No. Also, always check on Who-Called.co.uk. Just whack in the number that called you and you can instantly see if it’s a scam. People can easily leave comments on there and, as you’ll see below, I’m not alone in getting this particular scam call. Here’s some of the comments for the 02081233817 number…
Do NOT fall for it. They want you to call back and pay “tax”. It’s not the tax office. It’s a nasty, horrible scam which is all too easy to do. Getting a VoIP number in the UK takes seconds. Setting up an auto-dialer, playing an automated message, it’s all too easy.
Block them. Get an app to block spam calls. Check the number on Google. Use your phone to prevent that number calling again.