Many of us use Sky to get television. It offers a much greater choice than terrestrial TV or Freeview and there’s often a much better picture, especially for those in areas where aerials don’t work well. However, if you’re a Sky subscriber, you should be aware of a scam that’s going around which could well end up stealing your identity. So far it’s only been recorded with Sky customers, but it could happen with any subscription service, like Virgin Media.
How It Works
It’s a clever, two-part scams. It begins innocently enough with you receiving a pre-recorded call asking if you’re a Sky subscriber. If you respond that you are, then the second part kicks in a week later – by which time you’ve probably forgotten all about the first call.
This time it’s a live person on the other end of the line. He’ll claim to be from the Sky billing department and claim that your subscription for the month hasn’t been paid, and that unless you give your credit card details to be processed, your service will be suspended.
It can sound very plausible, and it’s easy to fall for it – a number of people have done. But once you’ve passed those details over, they’re not in the hands of Sky, but with the scammers who’ve tricked you.
How to Spot the Scam
The first giveaway is that someone would even call about a billing matter. According to Sky, anything like that would be handled in writing, and the same would be true for any subscription service of any kind.
The second red flag should be raised by the fact that your subscription hasn’t been paid. The vast majority of people will pay their Sky bill (and many others) by Direct Debit, which is all automated. Think about the way you pay yours.
Can the person who calls quote your account number? If he can’t give your name and account number, it’s a certain indication that this is a fake call, however clever and slick the script might be.
The first rule of thumb is to be very sceptical and distrusting when it comes to phone calls involving personal details and financial matters. Legitimate businesses simply don’t call and ask for this kind of information – they’ll already have it on file.If you receive a call like this, ask for a number where you can call them back. The chances are they won’t give you one, but if they do (and, it has to be said, if they give a real number, that’s very stupid), compare it against the number you have for Sky (you can also find the number online).
The simplest thing, perhaps, is simply to ask them to put the request in writing and send it to you – which is the proper procedure, of course. You won’t hear from them again.
What To Do If You Think You’ve Been Scammed
Inform the card company, your bank and the credit reporting agencies immediately. Request a copy of your credit file, and ask the agencies to flag it, in case anyone tries to open a new account.
The best advice is simply to keep your wits about you. It’s easy to be carried away by a phone call – they can seem official – and never give out information over the phone in a call you haven’t initiated, and where you can be sure who you’re speaking with.
Reader Caught Out...
Some of our readers have sent in their own experiences with a slight twist on the above scam:
The phone call I received from 'Sky' was to inform me, I am the account holder, that I am paying a little too much for our current package and offering to reduce it by £2.01 per month. The caller confirmed my name and address in order to confirm changes in writing and gave a 'new tech support number' of 08712 344644, then asked which bank I was with. He then 'quoted' the first 4 digits of my card and asked me for the remaining digits. I realised just in time that this was a likely scam call and refused to give details. I then contacted sky on their proper number who confirmed they would not do this, and I was not the 1st person to report this.
Another Version
I too received a phone call from someone claiminng to be from sky maintenance department, he too knew our name address and phone number, he wanted to know which system we were using and asked if we were having any problems with the picture etc. He said because we had not called out any engineer we were entitled to 10% off next year's premium, and if I would verify account details that payment is made from.
I told him that I didn't give those details over the phone and he stated that the details were deleted after I verified the account, I then told him my husband dealt with the sky account and he was working, although he was at home, and that he wouldn't be home until 8, he said he would phone back later. I then phoned sky to verify the call and they said they had received a few calls like mine. The number is 08719011500 they also gave me a word to use if I was reporting a fault so that no-one could use my account for maintenance.
Another Variation..
Another twist on the billng enquiry. I was called to be told that I had been paying too much repair cover and was being refunded £60 . I informed the person calling that I don't pay any cover and then he tried getting me to tell him the long number on the credit card. I refused but many might not.
Paying Sky Themselves is a con Its legalized robbery. And Skybet is very very corupt please dont touch these companies they will rip You off Completely.
chaz1234 - 26 December 2011 @ 11:34 PM
1 EOC cold called my husband in June 2011 said they could save us money on sky got bank details and took £79.00. I reported them to Consumer Direct and now Somerset and Avon Police are also launching a criminal fraud case about this. I contacted ny building society and managed to get the money back from their bank account as it was a fraudulant transcaction beware.
fop - 24 November 2011 @ 7:53 PM
My elderly father just handed over 65 pounds by debit card to a con called MY COVER LTD.thinking it is SKY insurance.
I assume it is a con as I can find no record of them.
Please be aware of this.
KIDDO - 31 October 2011 @ 4:18 PM
Yes, beware this company. Fraud.They seem to cold call vulnerable people who have Sky and talk them into giving card details over the phone for a warranty service.£79.99 was taken from my dad's account. They don't answer their phone or reply to emails.
John - 1 September 2011 @ 2:41 PM
we received a call claiming to be from sky insurance, which we used to have!! this asian sounding guy was unbelievably cocky.. he insisted on speaking with my husband, knew his name, i said no he is not available, and the guy said "why not", i said it was sunday bank holiday and we were not taking this type of call on this day, then i put the phone down, not 2 seconds later this guy rang me back, i put the phone down, the phone rang again straight away, by this time i was irritated to say the least... he said that my husband had paid twice and that they would like to refund him a payment... fortunately i heard this conversation, and not that he would have, but i butted in and said no way do you give this caller any details... the worrying part was, he knew my husbands email address, knew most of his credit card details as well.... he put the phone down after the guy got annoyed, what a bloody cheek, pardon my french!!! but i was so cross....however we rang sky immeidately and they gave us their independent equipment insurers contact details, and i rang them, no record of the phone call was on their system and no way they said would they ring and make such a statement over the phone, they would do it in writiing... so alarm bells once again!!! this now means my husband has to change his email add, and inform the bank re his credit card etc... the phone call was bad enough but it was the sheer front and cheek of the guy that beggerd belief... so confident and cocky, wish i could get my hands on him.. and of course the call came up as withheld.... so please be aware out there... dont trust anyone who rings you unless they take you through a security exercise and if you know the company....my worry is the elderly how the hell are they expected to cope with calls like this!!! its terrible...what can be done???
no - 28 August 2011 @ 10:23 PM
Looks like these guys have form.My husband received a call off one of their representatives last Friday, who stated that she was going to save him money on the Sky (which, incidentally, we don’t have!) and then proceeded to give him his card details ‘to check that they were still correct’. Having been given his own details he assumed it was something legitimate. I received paperwork stating that they have taken £79.99 for a policy covering equipment we don’t have in our property!!The policy is also in my name, and I have had no previous communication with the company!!I am, to say the least, angry that a policy has been mis-sold to my husband and money was taken without even being mentioned to him!I had a cheque refund (as I refused to disclose my info to them again), which has, not suprisingly, bounced 3 times.Now there is no answer on their phone!!!How can I get my money back, or do I just write it off as a bad loss??
Pam - 17 August 2011 @ 4:05 PM
we know that there were rogue traders in the industry a few years ago but lately,the FSA has tightened its grip in this industry and the problem is now under control.The public should know that SKY isnt authorised by the government to do maintenance and breakdown service alongside the provision of digital service.There is a company called DOMESTIC & GENERAL who buy SKY's name and logo(porporting to be sky wheras,they are not) and they administer SKYPROTECT and are not even regulated by the FSA yet sky recomends them just because they pay loads of money to sky do this.Not many members of the public know this.All sky is doing is to monopolise everything.No wonder Rupert Murdoch was facialed with shave foamcream because he thinks that gaining direct acess to Downing street gives him licence to own everything.IMAGINE IF HE HAD SUCESSFULLY BOUGHT OVER BSKYB........YOUR BILLS WOULD HAVE QUADROPLED JUST LIKE THAT....PLEASE THINK PEOPLE!!!!
che - 25 July 2011 @ 11:40 PM
Someone called my Husband whilst I was at work, claiming NOT to be actually from Sky but from the company that covers our box.
I pressed them and they said they were from '1eoc' company and they are 'working with Sky'.They claimed my warranty for the box was running out and that I'd got it insured last year and should now repeat that.I was suspicious and so asked about things and why for example, I had no memory of this payment and that they had nothing on record about me (they said they delete things after the payment is made for data protection reasons), nor did they give me any account number or date that I made this previous payment.I asked why don't they send out stuff in writing and they said they get poor returns on letters.I also said I don't recall making the payment and they said 'maybe you did it by monthly installments' and when I told them I cut them all out they backpeddled.
I then asked for a secure way to know who they were and they offered to put me through to the Customer department (whatever that means)I was then put through to some other very young lady who didn't know what I was telling her at all.They tried to push me and in the end I told them no and rung off.They gave me this number to call - 0844 6932855.The number they called me on however was 01275 390584!
I checked google for 1eoc ... they have a rubbish, cheap website that looks like a child made it in 30 minutes and it is a RESELLING ELECTRICAL HARDWARE SITE. So they take your stuff and flog it.Nice ppl.
KimKaze - 15 June 2011 @ 4:34 PM
I too received a call today purporting to be from a maintenance company, Homeguard Direct, who quoted the amount I was paying for my Sky subscription. because I had not called them out they were going to reduce my payments. I do not have a maintenance contract but they asked for my DD card details . I refused to give them. ,
Fred - 14 June 2011 @ 7:57 PM
We too received a similar call. I rang the genuine company that covers our box and they said that a password can be put on your account, which I have now done. Previsouly we have received calls again from 'Sky' saying they can reduce or bills if we give them bank details.
Steven - 11 May 2011 @ 6:04 PM
My elderly mother was called today by someone claiming to be from Sky who said that her warranty was out of date & needed renewal. She thought she paid for a service cover by direct debit but was confused - luckily she asked them to call back & in the interim we called Sky directly. They confirmed that they NEVER call people by telephone so if anyone calls claiming to be from Sky then they are frauds.
If I get hold of them..........................................
