Beware of Fraudsters calling as Home office

[girishm]

Hi all,

Me and my wife have the ILR in the UK.
My wife got a call today reporting to be from Home Office in Manchaster (some 0161 no). They asked my wife to pay a penalty of some £500. They claimed that "we did not provide the Foriegn Certification No. to the Home office as we should have after the ILR" and hence have got to pay the penalty over the phone.

I called the Home office (on the home office no mentioned on their website) and confirmed that this kind of fraud is going on and be aware not to pay anything to them. They can be very forceful on the phone. Following is in the news mentioned on the Border Agency site about it:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... ne-website

Regards,
Girish.

[John]

Thank you for drawing this matter to the attention of this board.

Because of its important I have made this topic into a "sticky".

[kranthi15]

Randam calls are coming from above number, claiming that they are from UKBA asking for UKCISA number

if you say you are not aware of this... they will give u final chance to fly back to your home country today or ask to pay penalty check the link below for more information...

http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteconte ... ne-website

http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/01614081201

[vinny]

URGENT - Victim of a Scam - call pretending to be from UKBA

[Krish11212]

Hi I got the same call today morning.

I would like to give some more information here

• - Received a call from unknown number claiming that they are from UKBA.
  
  - They sounded genuine and asked me to confirm the information they have like DOB, Full name, Current Address, VISA status, Previous employer.
  
  - Told they have sent a mail to the address on 13-dec-2012 to provide CISA number and didn't get any reply in 28 days and they are staging that I am an illegal immigrant despite of having valid visa and Passport.
  
  - They asks you not to disclose information and not to hang the phone.
  
  - They also stress that its a secure and recorded channel and all the information you are going to provide is recorded.
  
  - If you hang they will threaten you that you will get deported soon with hefty penalties.
  
  - They will give you file number some thing like
  AANNNNNA/ukba
  (A - is alphabet) letters from your fullname
  (N - is Numeric)
  
  - They will say 2 options,
  1. go back to your own country and pay the money get the CISA number and comeback.
  2. A solicitor will help you and they don't know how much it costs and they asks you for transferring call to the accountant department.
  
  - They will transfer call to an accountant named Peter(in my case) and you need to confirm the file number.
  
  - He will further confirm all the details and asks to confirm some more information they kept to make you believe.
  
  - He will suggest the matter ASAP to avoid hassle and deportation.
  
  - He will asks your address to go to nearest postoffice to transfer money to an address
  
  (1-50 g Shanti Path,
  Chanakyapuri,
  New Delhi
  110021,
  India
  Phone +91-01124192100
  www.ukinindia.fco.gov.uk
  
  - He says that you need to pay ASAP by going to a post office and pay 356£ refundable + 100£ processing fee + 12£ transfer charges while on the call.
  
  - He suggests not to disclose any bank details to anybody including himself.
  
  - Also gives you suggestion to goto bank and withdraw money (Everybody knows that from ATM you can't takeout more.)
  
  - He says you need to get the receipt along with the form which they say they will send to your email and come to UKBA office in 2, Marsham Street, London, SW 1P4DF.
  
  - If you doubt them and they will make you afraid of the consequences if you don't act.
  
  - The call took me an hour talking to these people. Trust me they have so much of your personal information that you can never doubt them until they come to the payment right now while talking.
  
  - When they called me after 10 minsI have asked for the EmployeeId and other authentic information they hung up which I should have done in the first place. Ahh they sounded so genuine.
  
  - I am registering the complaint in UKBA and probably with Police as well.
  
  - They record the call and try to get as much information they can from you related to your circumstances.
  
  I am just worried that they have so much of my personal information.

Please be aware frens and never disclose personal information at all.

Thanks Kranthi15 for the links and I am reposting it.

http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteconte ... ne-website

http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/01614081201

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... r/17-rules

Moderator can you please publish this information so that at least someone can be saved becoming a victim for these fraud calls.

- Krish

[prisat]

Attempted Fraud -


- Received a call from unknown number claiming that they are from UKBA.

- They sounded genuine and asked me to confirm me some of my personal details - Name / Address / DoB / Passport # / Resident Permit # / Last time when i left this country and the last time i came back to UK again and when was the first time i landed to UK.

- Told they have sent a mail to the address to provide CISA number and Since they did not get reply they are now contacting me to say that i should submit this numbe or they will move the file to the local police station.

- They also stress that its a secure and recorded channel and all the information you are going to provide is recorded.

- They gave me a file number some thing like
XY*****/UKBA (where x is the first letter of your first name and z is the first letter of your sur name while * = numbers)

They said 2 options,
1. Go back to your own country and pay the money get the CISA number and comeback OR send any one of your relative to go to delhi office (British High Comission) and claim the money back.
2. A solicitor will help you and they don't know how much it costs and they asks you for transferring call to the accountant department.

- They said they will move my file to the nearest police station if i dont submit CISA number today.

- The call took me around 20 minutes before i dropped (Enquired them about proofs of letter to my residence, i have never heard such a number, and i also know the recent changes that Home office has announced and never knew what CISA number is all about)

- Iam now worried that they have some of my confidential information like (Passport #, Visa #)

- I atleast confirmed with them for 4 times if they are calling from UK - Home Office, UKBA and they confirmed that they are ofcourse from UKBA.

- I said i will try to send somebody to British High Commission, Delhi, India and see what it is.

- They said after i have the CISA number, i should report back that number to this address :
2 Marsham Street
SW1 P4DF

I can very well say that they are trained to do these kind of calls and scams. They had a good accent and spoke with enough confidence like they are calling from Home Office.

In back ground i also heard atleast one other person talking to some body else in the same way she was speaking to me.

I am now worried that they have my Personal Information like Passport #, Resident permit.

Apart from that when i spoke to her, i very well understood it was a SCAM.

To some extent iam not sure what they will do with these details - Personal details - Name / Address / DoB / Passport # / Resident Permit # / Last time when i left this country and the last time i came back to UK again and when was the first time i landed to UK.

If at all they want to, they can. Useless scums.


Just wanted to let you all know so that others get benefitted by some information over here and they dont lose money.

Thanks for all your time in reading.

[puneetdwd]

Even, I have recieved a call today from an UNKNOWN number displayin in my mobile. He already had all my past 3 years UK addresses and my wife contact number. He said they since 6 April 2013 the UKBA rules are changed and now I need to update the CISA Number. He said UKBA has sent me a letter on 17 April and a reminder on 22 or 23 April 2013 and I have not responded. When I asked me again and again that what is CISA number and what is the delivery no of the letter he got irritated and started calling me INSANE & Fool...i realised this is a fake call. he said he will pass my details to Deportation dept and police and deportation department will contact me in next 2 hrs ...one hr already passed I reported at 0300 123 2040.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/scams/

Thanks

[fgag]

hi all,

so happy to see this topic!! I got a phone call (0161) number saying they were calling from ILR on behalf of the ukba.they said my husband would need to ho back to his country and apply from there as he has no right to stay in th uk so we got the ticket and gave the ticlet number:-\ shall we be worried???

[Amber]

hi all,

so happy to see this topic!! I got a phone call (0161) number saying they were calling from ILR on behalf of the ukba.they said my husband would need to ho back to his country and apply from there as he has no right to stay in th uk so we got the ticket and gave the ticlet number:-\ shall we be worried???

Got what ticket? What is your spouse's current immigration status?

[fgag]

illegal immigrant..for him to book his ticket and go back to his country

[shrinath24]

Hi Friends,
Yesterday I was also got same kind of call from 207-035-4848 pretending he is Immigration officer from UKBA and He mentioned me that I failed to fill 'Aliens Registration Number' on Landing Card. It was panic situation for me as that fraudster is making panic statements that we will arrest you anytime. He always ask to be online only during whole course of action.

I have managed to ask my HR immediately and they told its hoax call so dont given any information.

Regards.

[faraazsid]

Hello All,

I received a call "No Caller ID" from the person named John from Home Office and stated similar information that I heard previously from another person few weeks back that a case has been booked from British High Commission and they have arrest warrants against me and asked me not to disclose about this call to anyone while I'm on this call. At one point he also mentioned that my passport been frozen and I'll deported today.

As the call got disconnected, he called me back and later advised me to be home as police shall be arriving to my home address shortly.

This is the second time I received such a call and wondering if there is a best way to handle these situations!!! Please advise

Regards,
Sid

[bendominic13]

Thanks for the info

[Faisalchikte]

I got kind of call this morning and would like to share you what was it about?

Received a call from an unknown number: +44 843 3088259 claiming that the call is from the UK Border Agency (UKBA).

They sounded completely genuine and asked me to confirm all the information they have like DOB, Full name, Current Address, Permanent Address, VISA status, Current Employer, etc.

They also stress that it's a secure and recorded channel and all the information you are going to provide is recorded and they also provided me with a recorded reference number for conversation.

They asked me not to hang up and asked me not to disclose any information to the employer even after my insistence.

They said while traveling to the UK, I provided Immigration with false information. Their point was for my date of birth at Immigration in my country named India. Indian high commission tried sending a post to my permanent address, but no one responded and so as a consequence, the same matter was taken down to the supreme court in New Delhi (India) and so they believe I am illegal resident and may be a kind of crime.

After having a long conversation, that person realised I am a decent person and changes in DOB was a mistake. After a long conversation, he came up with two options:

1. Ask your family member to go and meet Indian solicitor named Manish Pandid based in New Delhi and asked him to close my case and come back to UKBA with case close number.

2. UKBA will look after everything, all I need to do is pay GBP. 490 through western Union. As UKBA already got a good connection with that solicitor so somehow they will close the case.

If I don't take any action at this moment, I would be deported back to India in next 3 working days with no possibility for returning back.

He asked me to grab passport in hand and give him all details he needed, but as I was not having my passport in hand, he said go get it from home as you shouldn't take any chance at this stage. he said he haven't got all day for me and has to look after other cases as well. I said I already got a passport copy, but he was like I shouldn't take any chance and grab a real passport as call are getting recorded, making me feel the call was genuine.

I told my line manager and asked me to drop home. After a long conversation, he started talking about penalty for my mistake.

The person on the phone suggested not to disclose any bank details to anybody including himself. It was good on my side that in scary environment I left my bag with credit card in the office. Also, he came up with the suggestion to go to the bank and withdraw money.

Then he started speaking about Western Union. He said you need to get the receipt along with the form. The immigration officer will visit you shortly to stamp it. I started doubting them soon after western union topic came into existence, but they made me afraid of the consequences if I don't act.

Anyways, somehow I found out a way to keep the phone and spoken to mom in India, but the response was like my family haven't received any post from the Supreme Court. When I rang real UKBA, they said they would never call you for such, but would write you and give you advance notice to resolve the issue. As the money was involved UKBA recognised it as a SCAM.

This how all story ends up after creating a scary environment.

The call took me an hour talking to that person. Trust me they have so much of your personal information that you can never doubt them until they come to the payment eventually right now while talking. I can very well say that they are trained to do these kind of calls and scams.

I am just worried that they have so much of my personal information. They can fool people very easily.

By the end of the call that person handed my file number, case number, solicitor information, recorded audio reference number and penalty amount to be paid.

Just wanted to let you all know so that others get benefitted by some information over here and they dont lose money.

Thanks for all your time in reading.

[gsi]

Same thing Happened to me.
I was called out of the Blue by a person positing as a home office officer . He knew my name / address /passport and visa numbers.
He asked me to go to the ukvi homepage and verify that the caller id phone is from the home office
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office
-His number (020 7035 4848 ) tallied with the one used for Public enquiries.
-He knew my address and said that they have already sent the order there
-He threatened me about a deportation order issued against me as I have not filled alien registration number on landing card and tried to hide my identity. This is due to request from home-office
-He asked me to go to home immediately to get my passport as they would advice me on how to remedy it by paying a fine.

-I refused and said that I would get me lawyer as anyways my visa is drawing to a close and did not care much about being deported and cut the call.
-I think the next step would have been to ask me for money.
-It is only later that I realised its a scam esp. as the accent seem like a Indian BPO guy and not proper 'British'. The key aspect of the scam is the use of spoofcard which allows the scamster to use UKBA's public enquiry number
-There are apps available which allow VOIP based spoofing (spoofcard), so that the caller id numbers can be set to whatever number(including Home Office).
-I suspect that this is being done by ex-BPO employees in India who have got the data from either VFS or Air India
-This kind of call leads to needless tension/ fear esp. as India expats are already scared by the anti-migrant hysteria created by the Tory party and the newspapers.

[goldencreeper]

Moderator - Please share this and spread the news.
Hello Guys,
Warning for all the people who are in UK or Abroad as Immigrants (Any Visa)

Today we received a call from Home office number 02070354848 (This is genuine Home office number). We were advised that its a genuine call and asked us to check the number in the home office site.

He also transferred to immigration officer who said we are not allowed to disconnect the call or contact anyone and have to strictly follow the protocols.The person on the call said he is calling from UKBA and he is doing investigation on some legal notice given to them Indian British embassy and have to do some background check in UK and in India. He said we didnt fill a alien card when landed in UK and its a mandatory card and it was not filled we are hiding something from them and we have become a suspect. If the checks come negative then the passport will be black stamped and we are unable to come to UK for 15 years.

He said UK check has come clear but to do the check in India it will take 72 hours. So he said we can take one of there options given by them. 1. (18A) Deported to India 2.(18B) Detention in police station or 3.(20A) pay 1000 pounds to get a temporary Visa.

They threaten and try to brainwash you to extract money.They say all stupid things and have your information already so dont tell anything even if they say they want to check against their records.

Please ignore if you get a call like this and don't share any personal information. Today we could have been a victim and would have lost money but fortunately we realised its a scam. we went through a trauma when we received the call, sacred panicked and I would like to warn everyone so that no one else goes through what we went through. please do share this to all your friends and family and keep them aware.

Also warning in the High commission of India website

https://www.hcilondon.in/pages.php?id=320

Thanks

[Casa]

Thank you for posting this. Unfortunately there have been numerous reports of this scam. There are suspicions that due to the extent of personal information the scammer has, it may be an ex-employee (or current) of an overseas visa application office. Most of the reports I've seen appear to be connected to India.

[goldencreeper]

No problem I just saw the other posts once I posted it. If you want you can remove it. Thanks.

[Casa]

No problem at all. The more awareness to the scam, the better.

[Subjanshan]

Same thing Happened to me.
I was called out by a unknown person claiming that he is from home office.he asked me whether I had done anything wrong in India ,had I any police case..etc
I said no such issues,then he claimed that Indian gov has filed a deportation case against me and I should co operate this investigation solely by not consulting anyone and should not hang my phone as I am under surveillance so asked not to breach protocol!
He asked me to go to google and type gov.uk then navigated me to home office enquiry contact number and the same number appeared in my mobile to make me believe that he s genuine

You lol find the number (020 7035 4848)here below
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office

He rushed me to leave from work place and reach home asap and keep the documents ready so that officials will visit home and do the verification

He threatened me about a deportation order issued against me as I have not filled alien registration number on landing card and tried to hide my identity.

When I reached home there were no officials and the same guy over asked my passport no and visa no and he too 15 mins to verify and i was on call but should not mute or cut the call
Advised not to talk to anyone else

He came back and said I have a lean background and he needs to provide this information with Indian gov

He took another 15 mins and came back with a story,
Indian gov do not have system to do the verification in short so they will take 72 hours,however he cannot let me stay here hence he said my visa is not valid for next 72 hrs hence I was given couple of provision 18 and 20

Either go to India sort it out and fly back
Or obtain a temp visa for 72 hrs once we receive the feedback from Indian gov I lol get my actual visa back

Obviously I chose provision 20 and I was asked to keep some proofs ready self attested
They lol send an official to collect but I should pay a penalty of 37 pound to home office for not filling aliens reg no or ds230 form

And Indian gov asking me to pay a financial security deposits amount which is refundable after 72 hrs if I m proven not guilty

I said yes I can co operate

He said Indian office closes in another two hrs so do not delay otherwise u lol taken to custody until the office opens next day

Emotional blackmail that u r family man so better get this done asap

I went to bank to withdraw 1485 GBP and 15 GBP as a fee total 1500 GBP

I went on to collect and reached post office to send using money gram

And all these while I was on call! The form had a warning note at the top which opened my eyes,started doubting the process goin on to me,still took the form and asked him the receiver detail and I was asked to fill receiver name as ALOK KUMAR

I started asking questions back why should I pay an individual and I am ready to pay Indian government not to an individual hence please send the official I'll send in front of him

Then he started threatening u r violating hence I m going to take u in custody I got confident that I have done nothing wrong why I need to worry. I said let me ask a police whether I am suppose to pay or not he still tried to make me believe that he s genuine and tried his best,said if u go to police they lol take u in custody their itself

I started searching police station near by and the game over!

What a day for me I was on call for 5 hrs continuously.Beware of these Bas*****
Or

[rukmesh]

I had received a similar call 3 months back. I had already heard of such fraud calls so, I smiled when the b**d said that he was calling from the home office. He asked me confidently what my reference number of last application was. I pretended to be suspicious and asked him that he should be knowing the reference number if he is calling from home office. Hearing this, he disconnected the phone.

hahahaha.. I agree that there are such stupid people around trying to dupe. Something should be done about them

[Newbiee]

Hello All,
I received a similar call today. Did any one of you try to open or opened a bank account in last 1-2 days before the call was received coz I strongly suspect as the phone call was made to my cell phone number which I gave only to the bank and is registered nowhere else as is very new and when the guy confirmed my address in India used the acronym of housing society as provided to the bank and not the full version which I have given in all documents otherwise. I may be wrong here but if its a trend then somebody is playing with backend data , we need to inform the right authorities.

[Bigrhish]

Joined this forum just to add more information about this ongoing scam.
There are few numbers from which people are getting calls, +999, +448433088259, +44800555111 and +442070354848
These callers include few men and a woman, they often say they belong to UKBA or crimestoppers mentioning their batch number.
I received calls from these numbers couple of time and I immediately blocked them(upon realizing that these are scam callers)
I have already informed the action fraud team and they are aware of this issue. They specifically told that UKBA or any other department don't call directly to individuals.

Just make sure you don't disclose any information about yourself or about you family. tc.

[pahariayogi]

Hi also received a call from +44 20 7035 4848 yesterday and today. I found the following UK Gov site to report fraud but found nothing to report an attempt.

But i thought its worth sharing this website:

http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

[noajthan]

Suggest recording such calls as evidence for authorities (HO, OfCom & etc).

And if not expecting genuine calls from same number suggest installing a call blocker on your phone.