‘Fake bailiffs said they’d take my furniture’ | Global News Avenue

One describes a criminal pretending to be a bailiff who almost deceived him to pay thousands of pounds to settle his fictional debt, part of a delicate scam.

What Already reported As an increasingly serious problem, people are called and told the judge are on their way to cancel their property at home, and the only way to cancel them is to pay the debt with the local court.

Convincing pretending the court’s telephone service attempted to pay with criminals, hoping that the panic of the approaching bailiffs would convince them to separate in cash.

Paul from Northumberland told BBC Radio 4 You and Yours It starts with the blue phone.

“I answered the phone and he went on to say he was a bailiff and he was ringing because there was a county court sentence against me last summer at Worcester Crown Court and I owe £2,950 plus his £970 the cost,” he said.

He was then told: “‘The boys and I are going to collect furniture from your house to collect the value found.”

The man on the phone told Paul that he rented a holiday cabin on his farm, which was related to unpaid social media marketing expenses.

“I was actually surprised and scared,” he said.

The man gave Paul a phone call to contact the court for details.

Even though the number is false, Paul encountered the court’s real automation board information – the criminals have been repeated, making the scam more convincing.

When he was sent to someone, Paul was told he had no “marketing expenses.”

He then received via email what looked like a real court document shared with the BBC – detailing the apparently increased debt.

Paul was asked to transfer the money to a personal bank account that serves as a freelancer.

“At this moment, the alarm bell rang out loud,” he said.

Paul then searched online for the court’s correct contact number and realized that the person he was given was wrong, like another email asking for payment to arrive, from an unlikely DOT COM email address Payment is the same.

“From all this, I’ve been calling the alleged bailiff and hopefully I’ll tell him I’ve sent the money,” he said.

“He said he would not cancel the fist’s action until the money was sent, which would walk around and steal all my furniture.”

Victoria, who lives in Cheshire, is also targeted by scams.

When her cell phone rang, she was told that “law enforcement officers” were about to delete items from their homes for 40 minutes.

“I’m a little panic mode,” she said.

The man told her that he could not discuss the details by phone, but would give her details from the Chester County Court and she could ask for explanation.

“I’ve been there for a long time,” Victoria said.

“I can’t get through. So because I can’t get through, the bailiff is on the way, so I’m even more panicked.”

She said she was able to reach another man, and could also be a liar, and she told her she had increased debt through Google ads – and because she remembers talking to Google a few years ago, it seemed reasonable.

Victoria, who works for the funeral business, has never actually purchased Google ads, but the man told her she had used the free trial but failed to cancel it.

Victoria was told she should appear in court and had a warrant for her arrest.

“I just want to send the money there,” she said.

“When I set it up on my computer, another bailiff called me and he was on the way, he was the annoying bailiff, he was the terrible bailiff.

“He just said he is only 10 minutes away now and he is about to clear his property and complete the bank transfer as soon as possible.”

When she set up payments on online banking, her husband searched the court’s correct number online and called it – but ranked 30th in the queue.

“He was walking out of the room and saying that if I send the money, he would never talk to me again.”

“And I just wanted to stop the bailiff.”

The warning to Victoria Online Banking is that the details she provided were for personal rather than corporate accounts, airing her first seed of doubt, just like her husband went to the real court and she told them not to pay.

For Paul and Victoria, this was almost missed.

Paul said, “They have almost me.”

“You get into a shock and you don’t really think clearly.

“And some of them have enough rationality because they claim I’m not actually paying for marketing for the resort cabin business. They’ll use my cell phone number to get me under my control and know my name.

“There are a few question marks that feel like it’s real – enough to scare me…”

The Justice Department said it is a criminal offence to impersonate a bailiff and anyone receiving a similar call should hang up and find the right number for the court.

Sarah Naylor of the Civil Enforcement Association’s trade agency said her organization has received an increase in reports about these strategies and that these may be the tip of the iceberg, as few victims would think they were cheated. The real bailiff was notified later.

“These scam companies work on the basis of urgency and fear,” she said.

She said real law enforcement officers will always be rescheduled and give people time to check details and will never offer a payment method.

“Hold your breath and reflect,” she advises anyone who receives a similar call.

“Is this seemingly right? Is this the first time you’ve heard of it? Does it look suspicious? Stay calm and learn more about debt, and if individuals don’t help you, then they’re likely not legal Law enforcement officers.”