AIBU to be scarred by scam phone call even though I didn't tell them anything?

[TeamLannister]

Hi, feeling a bit anxious, hopefully unnecessarily...
Had a phone call this morning supposedly from BT to say my broadband was hacked by some one in the US. Asked if I used Wi-Fi between 01.00 & 04.00 & if knew anyone at an address in California. I told her no & she asked me to check if my ip address was showing as UK or US & I told her I didn't know how to do that as I had gotten suspicious & hung up. She had asked if any devices were on line & I said no but DD was on her tablet watching Netflix at the time. Am I being a paranoid mess to be worried?? I'm usually really on the ball with potential scammers so I'm really annoyed I didn't hang up immediately!!

Scared not scarred, damn phone!!

Urgh they are getting more and more devious, I am sure it is fine though you gave no personal details I would ring your provider and report it though

Was your daughter using a US ip address so she could watch Netflix US?

Ring bt about it they will check it's a scam and advise you accordingly

But you didn't give her any info, so there is nothing to worry about. So called BT people ring me up all the time, I'm not with BT so they wouldn't be ringing. I always tell them to fuck off unless I'm bored and try to keep them on the line for ages

Yes YABU to be scared.

No DD is only 7 she wouldn't have a clue about ip addresses, neither would I or DH. I know I'm being silly to worry, but I'm a bit freaked out that I entered into any conversation at all!

You need to chill. There are plenty of scams out there, and you gave them nothing. so what is there to stress over?

My mum has this. It makes you feel uneasy but she rang BT and checked it wasnt thwm ( thus reporting it and checking security at the same time) I would say nothing to worry about but ring BT to put your mind at ease.

Ultimately they will have been trying to get you to log on to a particular website so they could harvest your bank details and stuff. You didn't do That, you are fine.

My parents got the tax office scam thankfully Ihad it a few days before and told them or they would be pressing all sorts on the phone, scammers are total scum

My dad had this. As pps have said, just phone BT to report it and confirm everything is ok. It's horrible because although you know it's very unlikely to be true, there's a nagging doubt in your mind.

I've had "Brian" and "George", both with heavy accents, call me from "BT Telecom" this week , wanting to discuss my broadband service being cut off . Both stuttered in their script , especially when I mentioned TPS. They must be doing the rounds. Try not to engage next time, although I know how discomforting it is as we regularly get emails from random addresses suggesting our email mailbox is full and about to be deleted.

What exactly are you scared about? These people are scammers, they don't know anything about you, it's random number dialing.

I like to enjoy a bit of winding them up if I'm not doing anything else when they call, they usually don't know two to deal with going off their script at all, lots of fun to be had.

I wouldn't worry, you didn't tell them any details and hung up.
Hate land line cold calls.
As an aside - your 7 year old is online on her tablet between 1am and 4am?!

Sandy I think it's because I doubted myself and engaged instead of telling her to bog off! Rang BT who confirmed it's a scam & that they never contact customers unless the customer has contacted them about an issue first.

No Pumpkin, she was on her tablet when the scumbag scammer rang this morning, not in the middle of the night!!

I don't think you were unreasonable to be worried. It's unsettling to think that engaging with them in any way might be the wrong thing to do.
Glad you checked up and it's okay.

Someone called me, saying they were from BT and were calling to help me with my computer. I burst into near-hysterical laughter. When he asked what was the matter, I told him that the last time I needed help from BT, I had to sit on the phone for well over 45 minutes and listen to a rather poor recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, only to be told that they'd try and fix it within three weeks. So the idea that someone would actually phone me to offer assistance was, well, laughable.

He hung up.

There are some amusing YouTube videos where people have completely turned the tables on these scammers. As a pp said, they know nothing beyond their script. In one video, iirc, the "victim" got remote access to the scammer's computer and changed the password so the scammer couldn't use it. Worth a watch. But right to be very careful, though.

I have had 2 of these today from "Talk Talk" about my supposedly faulty WIFI and they are complete scams. It was an person with a strong Indian accent both times trying to get access to my computer. I know talk talk have a free call barring service. Do BT have something similar?

I always say to them "you called me, so can you confirm my name, customer number and address?" and then they hang up.

I have heard that they get you to say yes. "Can you hear me?" This gets recorded and used to buy things over the phone, using your "answering" yes. It seems this does not apply to you!