Hey I recieved a phone call from a person with a foreign accent asking for my Mother. I said she wasn't home and they asked for any other family member. I said I was the daughter and they said my family had won a holiday anywhere in the world at a 5 star hotel. The offer was extended to 6 people and had no expiration - A lifetime offer. They repeatedly told me I had a nice "sound" throughout the conversation and persisted with flattery. Alarm bells rang as soon as they mentioned the holiday so I pretended to be flattered and let them talk. They then said that to make sure I was eligible for the offer of a "wonderful holiday" they had 3 routine questions. 1. Have I lived in NZ for over a year (I answered yes) 2. Am I over 18 (I answered yes, I am 20) 3. How do I pay for my groceries. I lied and said I pay with cash, they questioned that then asked if I had an American Express, Visa or MasterCard I lied and said no. They asked if anyone in my family had an American Express, Visa or MasterCard I lied and said no. They assured me they only needed it for the "5 star hotel" so they can be sure I am who I say I am. I said I didn't know anyone with a credit card. They asked if I had any friends with a credit card and said I could use anyones credit card. I said I didn't know anyone. They told me that they didn't want me to miss out on this opportunity for a wonderful holiday and unfortunately without a credit card I could not be eligible. I told them maybe my friend had a credit card and I would find out then asked for a contact number to call them back on with my "friend's" credit card number. They told me it was an overseas number and did my phone have international calling capabilities. I said yes that's fine and they asked for a time that would be convenient for them to call me back and I hung up. They were going by the name of Queensland something I didn't catch the full name and also mentioned something about the holiday being through my phone number being transferred to a different company or something along those lines. I called telecom and a memo was left on my file (to make sure no tolls were made) and a low level alert was added. I then called the police and they said it was the second call they had recieved that night and asked for me to come in and make a complaint. I am emailing you because I know not everyone will be familiar with these tactics and it concerns me that people may fall victim to the scam. It is easy to be blind when you're presented with a potential opportunity of a lifetime and complimented repeatedly in a conversation with a man with great people skills. His english was not great and he told me that I had a nice "sound" pretty much in response to every answer I gave him. The three main details he was phishing for were My full name My age Whether I had a credit card (I’m fairly certain he would have asked for the number had I said I have one) Just so you know these f*****s are phishing for credit card details and don't fall victim to them.
Good job thwarting the villains! And good for you reporting it too, these fuckers, yeah you can say it need to be stopped.
