Police are advising home owners to be aware of cold callers operating a scam involving refunds on Sky cards.
One resident in Cumbria alerted police after receiving a cold call from fraudsters purporting to be from Sky. The scammers told the home owner their Sky card was due to expire soon and an overpayment was on their account which needed to be refunded.
The scammers asked for bank details in order to issue the refund. The following day a Barclay’s card reader arrived in the post and a further telephone call was received.
Again, bank details were requested, along with PIN numbers. The victim became suspicious and did not provide any further details. No refunds were received and Sky have confirmed that they would never contact a customer asking for these details.
Protect yourself
Fraudsters move and change the geographical areas they operate in; all UK residents should also be aware about this type of scam and follow this advice:
- never give out your bank, credit card details or PIN number in any circumstances
- legitimate businesses will never ask you to disclose personal information
- If you receive a suspicious call end it immediately and report it to Action Fraud.
For further information please visit the Cumbria police website.
Please note that Action Fraud is not responsible for the content of external websites.
To report a fraud and receive a police crime reference number, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
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