Is this dodgy?

Heighway61

I got a confirmation text from a barber shop for an appointment. It had my name. I checked the business name and it is legitimate business in Dublin. I'm on the other side of the country and never had any dealings with them.

Don't know where they got my name and number.

Could this be dodgy? Any point contacting them?

goldenhoarde

Could be a customer gave the wrong number or was entered incorrectly and it happened to be yours.

Just don't click in any links (if any) In the message

Heighway61

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121322292#Comment_121322292

That's what I was thinking but they had my name as well as my number.

Hijpo

Very rare that two factors of ID get genuinely mixed an matched. Something tied your actual name and number.

It's never any harm to let a busines know that someone could be exploiting them from various points with readily available data also be aware for yourself that there has been a genuine data leak some where one the way.

Unless your up on cyber security threats or responsible for that business its not your job to figure out how it could be a problem but you can help those in the know figure it out why and how it could evolve into a problem.

taxAHcruel

^ it is very rare that two things get mixed up. But most scams rely on that. Which is counter intuitive. Basically they send out SO MANY texts to SO MANY people with random information that they eventually get "hits". And they only need to get less than 1% of hits to make a profit. And one of the reasons they make a profit is that when YOU are the person they "hit" it seems so unlikely that you think it must be real.

So yes - unless you are sure you made an appointment or you made contact it is ALWAYS dodgy. Look up the name of that business directly yourself and contact them and let them know about the text. But DO NOT CONTACT THEM by any means offered in the text. No link. No number. Nothing.

And after that if you are bored watch this show by Derren Brown. He made a whole show which was basically based on the exact same concept that a lot of scammers use. The "twist" or "reveal" at the end of this show is basically the same con that people sending you text messages are using.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7cf0wUx9Lg

Heighway61

Message is from InfoSMS, no number.

The text is:

_________________

Hi "my name",

You're scheduled for Gents Cut with "staff name" at 12:15 tomorrow.

See you soon!

"Company Name"

_________________

No call to action.

I'll ring the number on their website tomorrow.

Heighway61

According to the business a client with the same name and a similar phone number typed in my number by mistake on a booking form.

taxAHcruel

That can happen too. But generally as I said before if you think its dodgy its dodgy :) Always contact the business directly.

Heighway61

Hmm... not so sure now. They said they don't send out text messages, only emails. Who sent it then?

Ger Roe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121323779#Comment_121323779

That looks like winning the lottery type odds of that mistake happening. Someone else with the same name as you, just happened to mistakenly hit on your telephone number?? I wouldn't be happy with that explanation at all.

taxAHcruel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121324030#Comment_121324030

Refer back to my first message. It doesnt matter WHO sent it. They send out 100000s of messages. Occacionally one looks like it hits... and it makes sense.

From THIER perspective they send out 100000s of messages.

From YOUR perspective it looks like "oh my god thats my name"

If you throw enogh pasta at a wall - eventually one piece will stick

csirl

Make a complaint to the Data Protection Commission and see what the outcome is. Tell them a business you never used has your name/number on a database and contacted you - this is a GDPR breach.

taxAHcruel

In fairness the business is not to blame here. I am guessing.

What they do is they just send out 1000s of texts. With random names. And random Business names. And 1 in a 1000 or 1 in 10 thousand or even 1 in a million just happen to match up.

And they make their money out of the very rare match ups.

So making a complaint probably wont help much. But it is still good to do.

Again - watch the derren brown movie above. Its basically a numbers game. If you send out enough words and enough data..... eventually you will find people who think "This sounds like it is for me".

EVERYTHING is dodgy if you did not initiate contact yourself. Engrave that sentence in your heads.

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121322706#Comment_121322706

Why would you ? Just ignore

TaurenDruid

Is your name a common one, like Paddy, Mick, Seán? Nothing to worry about.

Is it a more uncommon name, like Todd,  Cannabranna, or Spodo? Then I'd be worried something was up.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121324779#Comment_121324779

I thin you're being very paranoid here.

Let's way they are spamming names and numbers all over ireland. It conceivable that they'd get no matches, but somehow they matched OPs names and number. Where doe the scam go from here? It's a barbershop text. They're essentially not going to get any money from the OP unless they cut his hair.

Text scams work by sending generic messages like parking fines, tax back, parcel delivery that apply to many and some might click a link and pay money to release their package or avoid a further fine. Not go for a scam haircut

taxAHcruel

Not paranoid at all. I simply know how the game(s) work in that "industry".

As for how scams make their money - there is all kinds of scam types that fit that profile. So I can only give you examples without more information. But for example the number the text comes from could be a premium number. So when you phone them back to find out whats going on they get your money. Other scams are what are called things like "call back" scams. Which is that they want you to call them back and they implement the scam money making thing at that point. First they want to get you on the phone - then they go for whatever the scam is.

The list goes on and I could spend all day listing examples that are only guess work based on the limited information here. But certainly a lot of scams are based on people thinking - sure this can not be a scam because * I * can not see how they are going to make money out of this. You not seeing the scam does not mean there isn't one. Scammers work very hard indeed to make their scams seem less like a potential scam in the first place. If they were obvious they would be less successful. Though even the more obvious ones do still get people fooled. Like the almost daily one I get telling me that some parcel is stuck in customs and I need to pay a small fee to release it :)

Or - it was simply a genuine mistake and there is no scam here at all. We simply do not know based on what we have been told here. No one knows this is a scam. Least of all me.

But I repeat - in general - if a company is seeming to contact you who you have never had contact with before then always consider it dodgy until you have reason to think otherwise. That is not "paranoia" but simple prudence. Nothing to gain by lending it credence. And nothing to lose - if you do insist on contacting the company - by looking them up and using the phone number you find there rather than reply to the text, click on any link in the text, or phone the number the text is from. Again - thats not paranoid any more than using a condom during sex is paranoid.