There is a new scam that especially affects foreigners (mostly students). There are two reported telephone numbers connected this case:
The caller pretends to be an employee of the UKBA (United Kingdom Border Agency). All calls show the same structure. The fraudster will tell you that there is a problem with your immigration status or your visa and that you’ll have to pay a fine. You’ll be advised to give him your credit card / debit card details or directly make a Western Union payment to settle the issue as easy as possible to prevent the UKBA from taking further steps against you. To convince you of his authenticity the dubious employee may tell you some personal information about yourself like your passport number or your telephone number. One victim even reported that he was called concerning one of his relatives. If you refuse to cooperate the caller will most probably try to put pressure on you with deportation threats and other tricks.
We provide some simple tips that you can rely on
- do never ever tell someone your credit card details during a cold call
- nor give any other personal information like your name or address
- instead ask the fraudster for his name, job title and telephone number
- note down the telephone number and report it on tellows.co.uk
Sources:
http://ljmu.ac.uk/NewsUpdate/index_124039.htm
http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/
