Scam Warning — Calls from “Vodafone”

We have received multiple calls on unrelated numbers from a female voice recording claiming to be calling from Vodafone, warning about suspensions:

This is Vodafone. Your Service may be suspended. Please press 1 to speak to an agent

Scam call pretending to be Vodafone

When you press ‘1’ it puts you in a queue to speak to a scammer who will no doubt ask you some ‘security questions’ and then either ask for payment details, or order some phones on your account leaving you dealing with the bill.

We’ve received these on lines that are no longer on Vodafone but were once Vodafone numbers, so it’s probably quite badly targeted expecting that number blocks originally allocated to Vodafone. The calls originated from different mobile phone numbers, but you shouldn’t rely on the Caller ID shown on your phone screen to authenticate callers; this is trivial to falsify.

It’s likely this will extend to other networks as well, not just Vodafone.

We produced a great guide on online scams you may find interesting. This includes the following item which is likely to be one of the scam vectors:

Scam – Online orders (2) – Sending a different item

What happens – You order a product online. The seller sends you an item which doesn’t bear any resemblance to the description.

The real story – When you ask for a refund or claim you didn’t receive the item, the seller accuses you of trying to cheat them. This scam can also be reversed, where you sell an item on eBay and the buyer argues that you didn’t send them what they ordered, or that it’s damaged. They will often ask for a partial refund or for return shipping costs from some far-away place.

Tips to avoid this scam – Make sure you record a video when you pack (as a seller) and unpack (as a buyer) any item you get. By doing this, showing carefully if the item works, and the package is not tampered with, you will have a better chance challenging eBay or ultimately going to court with evidence.