Are you too polite to tell fraudsters to ‘go away’ ? Apparently most of us are. Being polite to fraudsters could be costly…
Banks are warning that being polite to fraudsters could land you in trouble. Their purpose is to engage you in conversation, find out more about you, your family and friends and take your money.
For some of us it’s not a problem cutting those conversations short…. But for others it’s a problem as it goes against everything they have been taught since birth.
A survey by UK Finance found that 92% of people admitted saying yes to listening to calls or taking messages because they did not want to appear rude. The research found that people use all sorts of phrases to avoid saying no, with the most popular being “I’m not sure”.
According to the BBC below impersonation fraud doubled in the first half of the year to 33,115. If you are not a 100% sure who are talking to just put the phone down. It’s ok to be impolite sometimes.
On Demand Payment Technologies recommends you should:
- Be assertive and say you do not want to continue the conversation at this time.
2. Block the phone number if you can – some phones have this capability
3. Do not answer the number – if you do not recognise a number or it is ‘number withheld’ just don’t answer it. The fraudster will quickly realise their are wasting their time and move on.
4. Do not respond to “smishing” attacks where a aparent delivery service is asking for a small payment to deliver a package – especially if you have not ordered the package.
So, don’t be too polite to unsolicited callers. Being polite to fraudsters could be costly…