To think this sounded like a scam?

[RevoltingPeasant]

Tonight I got cold called on my mobile by someone claiming to be from the competition and markets authority (or similar). It all sounded very official and they said they had emailed me earlier saying they would ring (which was true).

They asked me to confirm I'd received the email. I didn't answer.

They asked if I was responsible for making decisions about energy suppliers and I said yes - they then asked casually "so how long have you been at for?"

At this point I said - not nastily - that I was afraid I thought this was a scam and I was going to hang up. And did.

It occurred to me that they had called me out of nowhere and basically tried to get me to confirm my email and how long I'd been living here. So they have my name, address, email, mobile and potentially how long I've been at this address - isn't that most of the info you need to take out credit in someone's name???

AIBU or AIBP (am I being paranoid??)?

Sounds like someone trying to convince you to switch suppliers tbh.

It doesn't sound like a scam to me, just an annoying cold call.

It probably wasn't a scam but you certainly weren't unreasonable to not want to talk to them.

Sounds like your standard cold call. Think you are a bit paranoid but not unreasonable to not want to give that information.

YANBU. It was probably just marketing, but you never know. I certainly wouldn't have entertained them.

Heart, that's the thing - where would they get my street address (which they had correctly) and my mobile and my email?

But ahoy to accept I am b ABP (a bit paranoid)!

Anyhow, I wasn't rude, so no harm done.

Somebody (a company) you have given all those details to in good faith in the past has sold your information. It's not right, but it does happen.

Have you put your details into a comparison site at all?

Scams and phishing attacks, whether by phone or by email, are getting more and more convincing and targeted so we'd all do well to be more suspicious.

It does sound like this was a sales call though, but frankly you don't want your details on a load of sales databases that will send you endless cold calls so probably best to shut them down to.

I have used a comparison site but not with my mobile. I always put my landline into online forms as we are out all day and never answer it, and it has no voicemail.

Yes, probably a sales call though.....

I agree it was not a scam just another cold call. It's easy enough to get details off the electoral roll, and think how many times you I put your email address on something online. It's also easy to get your mothers maiden name and your DOB on an ancestry website, so always avoid these if possible.

I have sometimes deliberately mis-spelt my name to see who it gets sold to!

Andrew you are a sneaky devil

If I buy something online that needs a mobile number then I tend to change the last digit. Fed up with calls!