An attempted debt collection scam begins with a letter arriving through the mail.

A recent scammer has introduced themselves as a debt collector working for Astradelph International Debt Collection.

This organisation is based in the Czech Republic and will claim that the recipient of the letter owes several hundred pounds which must be repaid immediately to avoid legal proceedings and further fees.

The letter goes on to provide a phone number and bank account details in order for payment to be made.

However, should you reply to either you are likely to be scammed – their bank account is purely for accepting payments from people too stupid to realise that they didn’t owe this company money in the first place.

Of course, once they have your bank account details, further fraud may ensue.

The telephone number is cleverly connected to an answering machine which plays a continuous dialling tone, thereby conning the dialler into thinking they have not yet been connected.

All the while, they are being charged for calling this premium rate number!

Article by Lee Munson

Lee's non-technical background allows him to write about internet security in a clear way that is understandable to both IT professionals and people just like you who need simple answers to your security questions.

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