topic Re: Have I been scammed? in Discussions & Feedback

Have I been scammed?

MaryM — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 08:56:13 GMT

Hi all, in Dec I bought a new O2 phone, I didn't like it and asked to return it under the 14-day cooling off period, I bought a second new phone so I wasn't without one, which I am keeping.

After 10 days I'd heard nothing so I chased the refund yesterday, I'd had so much trouble sorting out the returns procedure that I'd been in contact with O2 via Facebook messaging, it's the only way I could get a written record because chat doesn't work with Pay & Go and all emails are from no-reply addresses. I'd been sent 3 return bags to two different addresses, each with no or different documentation and got told different things every time I phoned, I was worried the return would get lost.

Yesterday I was told the refund could only be done over the phone and I would get a callback. An hour later the phone rang, the call identifier was O2 and a lady with a thick foreign accent asked for my card details, I was concerned she insisted on the card start date as well because that isn't usual with credit card transactions. She assured me the refund would be in my account in 5-7 working days. Of course I have no proof I was actually talking to O2.

Then in the evening I noticed some missed calls again from O2, and a text saying please phone us to do your refund. The text was a no-reply number and when I returned the missed call, I got a message saying more or less 'go away, we will call you if we need to talk to you'.

I messaged O2 again via Facebook querying these two separate 'refunds', no reply yet.

Then this morning real panic set in, an e-mail from a weird address 'mycare@o2mail.co.uk', it was sent to two e-mail addresses, my real one and one I don't have, with spelling and punctuation mistakes, typical scam stuff.

When I search this site, mycare etc comes up as a scam. Possibly the Facebook message was hacked.

I now think I've given my card info to a foreign scammer, I've stopped my card and fortunately it hasn't been fraudulently used yet.

All this is because O2 will not do anything apart from over the phone where customers have no record of what they have been told or promised.

What do people think? My card is safe now but are they doing this to other people? Did they give me an extended refund date in the hope I wouldn't check the account and they could run amok with my card before I noticed?

What a way to do business.

Re: Have I been scammed?

MI5 — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 09:09:54 GMT

@MaryM

mycare is a genuine O2 email address.

Re: Have I been scammed?

Cleoriff — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 09:12:50 GMT

@MaryM

mycare@o2mail.co.uk is a legitimate email address from O2. See this thread https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Apple/My-care/m-p/965933/highlight/true#M143282

However as you have other concerns, I will ask @O2Lisa or @O2Georgina to take a look at your account for you.

Re: Have I been scammed?

O2Georgina — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 09:17:16 GMT

Morning @Cleoriff Thanks for the tag, @MaryM I will send you a private message so we can look in to this for you

Re: Have I been scammed?

Cleoriff — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 09:19:07 GMT

Morning @O2Georgina and thanks

Re: Have I been scammed?

MaryM — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 09:34:16 GMT

many thanks all

my concern about the e-mail is it includes the sentence:

Apologies, if any inconvenienced caused

and says it's from:

Cash Management"

as you know, errors like that are scam red lights!

Re: Have I been scammed?

Cleoriff — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 09:39:51 GMT

@MaryMone of our account advisors @O2Georgina is sending you a private message. Look out for it, top right hand side of page like so. It will have a 1 in the box when the message is sent.