Another mobile phone scam
This week and last my friends have been targeted by a scam involving multiple mobile phone contracts, set up with their address details. They have so far had five different accounts with Vodafone and two with EE. The very odd thing is that they live in a row of five cottages, and four of the other households on the row have been similarly targetted with multiple accounts at each address. Bills are always in the name of the same couple of individuals, with names which sound Albanian, or Latvian (or similar) but addressed to their address. Each time they have reported the accounts to the fraud section at the relevant phone company.
I suggested they should go to the police, but apparently they weren't partcularly interested as they say my friends haven't lost out financially. Their bank accounts are not those listed as the account from which the 'payment' is to be made so it doesn't appear that the thieves have got their bank details. Is there anything else they can and should be doing? Anyone else had anything similar happen, and what was the result? My friends are assuming that the thieves get away with expensive phones, and that somewhere down the line their address may be visited by 'bailiffs' trying to reclaim goods against unpaid bills.
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I would certainly return any correspondence "Not Known at this address" A little strange that their neighbours have had the same thing. Would the local paper be interested?
I have had visits from quite a few debt collectors as someone living about 3/4 mile away as the crow flies - used to use my house name and postcode for all sorts - even the TV which prompted a call from TV Licences! The most recent call was about a week ago and he asked for a name I thought was a woman who had lived there a couple of years ago - don't tell me I said - did she owe you money! Without saying so it was clear that she did - so I directed him to the landlord but I doubt he got any joy as I believe she left the landlord out of pocket for rent and certainly for the industrial clean he had to pay for to get it ready to sell! The new owners now have their own postcode as I went to see them after a few deliveries came here instead - not happy drivers as its about 4 miles round by road!
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We sometimes get mail addressed to one the 18 numbers that are "missing" between us and the next house in our road, when the cul de sac we are on the end of was given its own name,and the letters are normally for debt
It is normally when a relief or new postie is on the round as the usual one now knows to not knock and ask either of us if we know
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One aspect to consider is also the eventual possibility of CCJs being registered against the address and whilst not you personally can adversely impact your credit rating.
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OK, off topic, but reminded me of a fly by night 30 years ago. The chap and his misses lived in a North Wales village and owed a friend of mine a substantial amount of money. I had been off work for nearly 2 weeks following a traffic accident, not my fault, and had just got a new motorcycle. So before returning to work I rode 30 or so miles to the chaps address. It transpired that he had done a moonlight flit. I checked the local shop and they were owed for food deliveries and newspapers. The landlord was owed 2 months rent, the local garage was owed for work on a car following a bouncing cheque. The garage had poor records but could give me details of the car model and colour but not the reg. One of the people living nearby told me that they had seen a car like his (not that common in the colour) in Colwyn bay.
I spent probably an hour knocking on random doors in Colwyn Bay until somebody had said that they had seen a car like that and vaguely new where.
Long story short. I found the car and knocked on the nearby door. Chap came to the door and was totally surprised to be tracked down. I advised him that if he paid the debt now it would be far better for him as my friend was prepared to right off the debt but that the heavies would pay him a call and extract payment in kind. Went to the bank with him and was given the money. Passed his address to his old landlord, garage and local shop along with the info that he had no problem paying me a significant some of money after a visit to the bank.
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That is exactly what they're worried about - and nobody seems to be taking it very seriously.
Two more phone company accounts arrived yesterday - another from EE despite fraud reports already being made to them at the beginning of the week, and a second from ID at Carphone warehouse. Carphone Warehouse wouldn't even file a 'fraud' report or take details of what had happened because 'they were not the account holder'!!!!. 'Computer says "No"'!
Their immediate neighbour also receive another letter yesterday.
Each house seems to have a named person operating the scam, and the letters are always addressed to the same individual. Anyone know Gyula Pente (probably Romanian) who is their scammer?
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It seems very odd. When we took out a contract for a phone we had to produce proof of where we lived and identity. A photo driving licence of course does both. They then ran a credit check before releasing the phone. So if they are doing it to steal the phone and are giving your friends address, presumably they must have something with their name on that establishes it as their address. Plus if the bank details are different how does the credit rating get approved, any cards they held would presumably be linked to a different address. Makes you wonder how thorough the checks these companies do are.
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I wonder if Gyula Pente is lying in wait for letters as I saw on one scam involving credit cards etc.
I would definitely go with "Not Known at this address" and return the letters pronto. Possibly photograph the offending envelope with your redirection on it and record the date/s.
Isn't it illegal to open post addressed to someone else anyway?
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They haven't opened any of the letters, simply phoned the companies concerned to check what was going on - and returned all the letters to the company concerned - taking photographs after letter number 3. However, each envelope has been clearly addressed to Gyula Pente, and all have the details of the phone company on the outside.
The fraud department at Vodafone and EE are now phoning each day to check if there has been any more correspondence from other phone providers. They also checked our friends bank accounts against those quoted for the accounts and told them their accounts were not implicated. Another letter from Carphone Warehouse arrived this morning but so far they are still refusing to talk to my friends, unless they can get a crime number, and the police won't give them a crime number as they have no proof that a crime has been committed.
I can't imagine how it is possible to get away without producing proper ID, or how a credit check doesn't reveal that the person doesn't live there - and has never lived there. But it obviously is!
Just be aware if you get any similarly mis-addressed mail - there may be more going on than a simple mistake in the address.
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What ever the legalities when we had a letter with our address but someone else's name I opened it, and will do the same in the future. In our case it appeared to be a legitimate mistake. It was however a demand for an unpaid bill, which could have resulted in our address having its credit rating affected. By opening it, I was able to see exactly what it was and get the problem resolved. Given that we have lived in this house for over 30 years, we should not really be getting mail for previous owners. So I don't feel in the slightest bit guilty opening something with our address on.
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