Rise in mobile phone scams

There has been a rise in mobile phone scams. Follow my top tips to keep yourself safe…

It seems there is a new story in the press every day about the latest mobile scam, it is very worrying and it can cost some people a lot of money.

If you want to keep yourself, your phone and your bank account safe then follow my simple tips and advice.

Please pass this onto a friend and help keep them safe too 🙂

Missed call

This is a fairly new scam but it is costing people around £300. I posted on it a few weeks ago and I was astonished to see how many people had actually been victim to this.

A premium rate number calls you and you miss the call. Once you returned the call you were being charged a fortune.

Some people also reported that they were charged if they answered the call too.

If you’re unsure about a phone number – don’t answer and google the number instead.

Text messages

There are tons of scam texts going around so my advice would be to not reply to any of them unless you actually know the person sending you the text message.

Some of the most popular scams are texts sent as though they are from friends pretending to be in trouble and they ask you to transfer money to them. They will often say ‘I can’t talk so don’t ring me but I really need your help now’ – Always ring them just to clarify.

Rise in mobile phone scams — Joe got in-touch to tell us about a scam she had received from someone pretending to be Lloyds bank

Premium rate messages

Most premium rate messages come from phone numbers that are 5 digits long. They may text you to say you have won a prize and you must text back or call a certain number to ‘claim’.

However, this phone number will cost you a fortune to call or you may end up being subscribed to scam text messages which can cost between £1.50 – £3 per text – I’ve heard from people in the past how they were sent around 20 texts in less than a minute which proved costly for them.

What can you do if you’re a victim of a telephone scam?

Contact your mobile phone provider straight away
Text the word STOP to the subscription number, the sender is legally obliged to stop sending text messages immediately.
PhonepayPlus regulates premium numbers and has statutory powers to stop mobile phone frauds and fine the offenders. Inform them as soon as possible.

How can I protect myself from these kind of scams?

Set up security on your device such as a pin or passcode.
Choose a different password for every account you hold, never use the same password more than once because that gives scammers an easy way into all of your accounts.
If your phone is lost or stolen then report it to the police and your network provider straight away. The network provider can block any calls or texts being made from the device so you are not left with a hefty bill.
Always download security onto your device. AVG is a good free security app if you don’t want to pay for security.
If you are selling or no longer using your device, take it back to factory settings to ensure none of your personal details or passwords are still saved on the phone.
Do not respond to unknown numbers or call back a premium rate number, always google a phone number you’re unsure of.

Did you know, there are many scams on social media and you have probably falling victim to at least one of them at some point? Take a look at the most popular social media scams here…