Virgin Media O2 has issued a stark warning for all customers, as the network highlighted the biggest scams circulating right now. The company found that in March, the common fraud texts that users blocked included ones that started with “Hi Mum/Hi Dad” along with fake delivery and bank payment text messages.
After this, the next most common text involved fake package deliveries, where fraudsters pretended to be from a major delivery company. They would tell you that something is wrong with your delivery, and try to get you to visit a scam website to rearrange, add more detail or pay for a “delivery” in the hope of gaining customer bank details.
Virgin noted that “failed payment” notifications were also common, where a fraudster would tell you that there’s something wrong with your bank account. Finally, another frequently used scam is the cryptocurrency and investment scam, with con artists claiming customers can earn large returns on their investment if they visit a website, The Express reports.
Liam Rawsthorne, Head of Fraud at Virgin Media O2 said: “We’re working relentlessly to stop fraudsters in their tracks, helping keep our customers safer by blocking millions of spam texts and calls every month. The five most common texts blocked on our network show just how sophisticated scammers are, with these criminals always looking for new ways to reach their victims by posing as the people and businesses we trust.
“Taking the time to stop and think before calling back or clicking through can make all the difference and, by forwarding on scam texts to 7726 for free, you can help spot new trends and tricks, so we can build even stronger defences.”
To help prevent more scams from reaching people, the telecoms firm has urged its customers to forward any suspicious texts they receive to 7726. Virgin Media O2 also says it analyses these texts to block tens of millions of malicious and fraudulent text messages targeting its customers.
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