Virgin Media is warning its customers to beware of fraudsters looking to steal their data and is offering tips and advice on how to keep their accounts safe. These con artists often work in many different ways, using texts, emails and calls to try and steal sensitive data from you, while pretending to work on behalf of Virgin Media or any other broadband provider. In a blog post, Virgin said: “Spotting scammers can be tricky and they’re getting smarter all the time, using new techniques to try to prise your personal information away from you, such as using social media.” As these swindlers constantly evolve their techniques, Virgin noted that they regularly update our website with up-to-date examples. You can find these at virginmedia.com/securityhub.

HOW TO SPOT EMAIL SCAMS

Check who it’s from

While you may receive an email that looks like it was sent from Virgin media, by hovering over or right-clicking the sender’s name, you’ll be able to see the email address it has actually been sent from.

The sender’s name may look legitimate, but often a fraudulent email address will contain a small spelling error or could simply be a random assortment of numbers and letters.

Spelling or grammar mistakes

In 2023, it is still surprisingly common for phishing emails- which are looking to steal personal information like credit card numbers- to be riddled with spelling and grammatical errors.

However, as these scammers have evolved, it’s become harder to spot these errors. But there are still other things that you can look out for: is the email consistent in how it looks? Is there a mix of US and UK English? Does it use different font styles or even random sizes? These are all things that may suggest that the email is not genuine.

Phishing email scams target ‘vulnerable people’ says expert

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Asking for personal details

Furthermore, Virgin Media promised that they would never ask you for your full password, or memorable word, or to confirm your full account details as a security question. This also includes any calls, texts, emails and social media chats that you receive from Virgin.

Your urgent attention is required!!! Please click here

If you see a message like this in your email, it is like a fraud trying to trick you into thinking that your account is being closed, or a payment is being charged. Often such emails also come with a link, urging you to click on it to supply the information to prevent these supposed payments.

This is a major red flag, and you should never click on such links, as they may contain viruses that could infect your computer or even install ransomware. Instead, to check the status of your account, visit virginmedia.com/myvirginmedia.

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HOW TO SPOT A PHONE SCAM

Virgin Media has also warned its customers about fraudulent phone calls, which could be just as dangerous as email scams. In particular, these can be tricky to spot, as the caller would likely sound friendly and professional, while urging you to take immediate action to save your account or make a payment.

Here are some things to look out for:

The call comes out of the blue

In many instances, these scammers call you out of the blue and will sound friendly, polite, and professional. However, Virgin warned that as soon as they put you under pressure and ask you to act immediately – be suspicious.

If someone who sounds like an official representative calls you unexpectedly about a problem with your account or an extremely attractive deal, it might be a scam. If you suspect that it may be a scam, call the business or company back yourself rather than continue the call.

If the caller is being evasive and threatening

Scammers may try to dodge the question if you question why they’re calling, or even threaten to charge a payment from your account if you don’t listen to them.

Virgin said: “If a scammer’s pretending to be from Virgin Media and they ever threaten you, please call the police’s non-emergency number 101 or textphone 1800 101 as soon as possible – they’ll pick it up with us.”

Sophisticated scammers are now able to clone the phone numbers of organisations they want to impersonate. This means that even if the caller display number matches an official number, it may not be real.

When calling the person back, don’t use the number they provide, find it yourself. However, the safest way to contact most UK banks after a supposed fraud call is using the new 159 service.

Worried you might have been scammed?

If you ever think you’ve been the victim of fraud – whether you’ve given your details over the phone or clicked a dodgy link in a text or email and shared sensitive info – don’t panic. Virgin has provided some advice on what you can do: 

Get in touch with your bank if you think you might have given out any financial info – they’ll try to recover any money you’ve lost. You can call 159 to connect directly to most UK banks

Change your account password(s)

Forward fraudulent texts to us at 7726 and emails to [email protected] and we’ll look into them (it won’t cost you anything)

It won’t cost you anything to send messages to 7726 and it means we can investigate the sender.

if your phone supports SPAM reporting (currently available if you have an Android device using the Google Messenger App, but others will be available soon), then press the SPAM button to automatically forward the message to 7726.

Ring Action Fraud (the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime) on 0300 123 2040 or use their online reporting tool at reporting.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting

Call us on 150 from your Virgin Mobile phone or 0345 454 1111* from any other phone if you think somebody’s taken out a contract with us using your details.

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