Does this spark phone call sound legit?

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ALTRON

531 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 164281 4-Feb-2015 09:19

Someone apparently from spark rang my parents yesterday telling them someone had "access to our line" and don't use the internet. ip holder

They're on a spark fiber connection in central Lower Hutt 30/10

IT sounded pretty dodgy to me as my parents didn't know what to make of it.

I tried to call him back at the number he left but just got answering machine.
Eric Abrahams ID E8600053

n4

956 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1230951 4-Feb-2015 09:53

Do they have wifi and is it secure? Might be what it's about, assuming it's not just some scam.

Huawei Mate 7, on 2degrees

tdgeek

18063 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 1230954 4-Feb-2015 09:55

That ID isn't a Spark ID, we use 6 number T numbers, such as T123456

We could have made that call if we detected spam or such issues on their broadband, but on a phone only line? Dubious, but surprised the answer service gave details.

ALTRON

531 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1230955 4-Feb-2015 09:56

Yeah they have wifi and its secure as wifi can be :)

I'm pretty sure it's a scam as it's exactly what spark describes on the network alerts page. Scam

Publius

275 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1231291 4-Feb-2015 18:14

As per http://www.spark.co.nz/help/servicealert/phoneservicealert/

FRAUDULENT PHONE CALLS

Spark has become aware that some of its customers have been contacted by fraudsters claiming to be from Spark.

The fraudsters are reportedly telling customers that their Spark services will be cut off due to security issues unless they change their settings or clean up their computers. The customers are then directed to a website where they are told to download some software, which the fraudsters have branded as Spark. Customers are also being asked by the caller to give remote access to their computer, provide personal banking information, and leave their phone off the hook for up to three days following the ‘setting change’ as part of this scam. We understand in some instances the fraudsters are giving customers a made-up “employee number” to verify their identity.

These calls are not from Spark and Spark strongly advise anyone who receives one of these calls to hang up immediately, do not hand over any personal banking information and do not proceed to the fraudulent webpage. If you have any doubts about a phone call’s legitimacy, end the call and ring Spark’s on 123.

Please be assured that these fraudsters do not have access to Spark systems.

SparkNZ

31 posts

Geek

Trusted

Spark NZ

# 1233262 9-Feb-2015 09:23

3 people support this post

ALTRON: Someone apparently from spark rang my parents yesterday telling them someone had "access to our line" and don't use the internet. ip holder

They're on a spark fiber connection in central Lower Hutt 30/10

IT sounded pretty dodgy to me as my parents didn't know what to make of it.

I tried to call him back at the number he left but just got answering machine.
Eric Abrahams ID E8600053

This Eric Abrahams has apparently been calling a number of people, not just our customers!

It looks to be a continuation of a similar scam that started middle/late last year, calling from overseas disposable numbers and attempting to dupe people into clicking links that exploit vulnerabilities, installing malware directly themselves, or extracting confidential information.

We will never ring customers out of the blue and ask them to view their computer remotely, to provide banking or credit card details, or to log on to their online banking. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from Spark who asks you to enter your bank details, then you should end the call and contact us on 123, Option 9 to let us know.

If you are ever concerned about the legitimacy of a call, you can always hang up and call us back on 123, the next agent will have the records of the previous conversation and will be able to pick up where the last left off, assuming it was a legitimate call of course!

Thanks! ^Sam

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