Below is a letter from Talk Talk as sent to it customers this week.
I wanted to write to you about an important issue that is facing many companies and customers. Every sector is seeing continual growth in the number of people who are being targeted by phone and email scams. These scams are run by criminal organisations who contact customers claiming to be from a company that a customer already has a relationship with to try and get their bank or credit card details to steal money from them.
Recently, we have seen an increase in the number of cases of malicious scammers claiming to be from TalkTalk preying on our customers. In some cases our customers have got in touch to tell us that the scammers have obtained their TalkTalk account number as well as their phone number.
We take your security very seriously, which is why I’m writing today to provide you with some extra help and advice.
Avoiding scams
We have created a new Scam Calls and Emails Guide to help protect you from phone scams. This includes advice on how to tell if a call is really from us.
For example:
• We will never call and ask for your bank account details, unless we have had specific permission from you first.
• We will never call you and ask you to download software onto your PC, unless we have agreed this with you first.
• We will never send you emails asking you to provide personal or security details.
Reporting to us
If you’ve received a call claiming to be from TalkTalk and think it might be a scam, then it’s important that you report it to us so we can investigate on your behalf. You can find out how to report a scam call here
If you get an email claiming to be from us asking for personal information please forward it straight away to phishing@talktalkplc.com
Privacy features as standard
Preventing scam and nuisance calls, which can be irritating and disturbing, is a high priority for us. We have a range of privacy features that come as standard, just for our customers, including our unique HomeSafe® nuisance call reporting service.
In some cases we may even block certain callers from ringing customers on our network, if they’ve breached a strict set of criteria. You can also block your number from receiving unsolicited sales calls by registering with the Telephone Preference Service.
Find out how you can activate privacy features here
I hope that you found this useful and that by remembering these few simple steps, we can keep you protected.
Yours sincerely,
TRISTIA HARRISON
Tristia Harrison
Managing Director, Consumer
