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NCTServices[.]org - Scam?

BlackEdelweiss

Has anyone used NCTServices[.]org?

I went online on my phone to book a test on Saturday. Googled nct booking and clicked the link. Went through the process online and paid my fee. Got a confirmation email and a follow up email.

I went to cancel the booking this morning and called the actual nct and they said my booking was nothing to do with them.

NCTServices.org has no phone contact details and the company check looks very dodgy.

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chambers1000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120571938#Comment_120571938

The exact same thing had happened to me, it’s my first time booking the nct and i thought it was the actual website. Did they ever book your test for you or did you ever get a refund from them or did they take the money and do nothing?

antodeco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573477#Comment_120573477

Sorry you're right. Mine just must have always autofilled! I book 4 NCTs a year and never spotted it!

LIGHTNING

I also reported the domain to the register and a few other domain reputation sites.

BlackEdelweiss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574768#Comment_120574768

I wonder is that just up since yesterday. I forwarded the few emails I got from nct services to the nct. Fairly quick off the mark with them!

User1998

From NCT website:

The National Car Testing Service has become aware of a website (s) which claims to act as an intermediary for customers who want to book their NCT for a fee. NCT wish to make it clear that this organisation has no affiliation with the National Car Testing Service in any capacity and urges the Irish public to proceed with caution and to only use the official NCT website

LIGHTNING

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573151#Comment_120573151

@BlackEdelweiss no need to be so snarky. I work in Cybersecurity and it would be one of the default recommendations for if we see a few people in an organisation fall victim to phishing/scam. I am not pointing fingers or getting on my high horse.

FishOnABike

They might be as legitimate as some of the intermediary services that will order a birth certificate on your behalf but they're not the official NCT site.

These intermediaries charge a processing fee for doing exactly what you can do yourself in a few minutes. They may offer a legitimate service but there is always a risk in disclosing personal identity and financial information to a third party.

Where it is not a well established business I've dealt with online before I'd use a one-time-use virtual debit card to minimise the risk.

Alun

There's something fishy going on because if I Google "nct booking" then the first 5 hits all point to ncts.ie, the other hits are from newspaper articles, the RSA, etc.. No sign of nctservices.org in the first 10 pages I looked through.

Plus it very clearly states at the top of the nctservices.org page "This is an intermediary service that helps you to get expedited NCT tests."

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572744#Comment_120572744

Full address is required for NCT bookings

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573151#Comment_120573151

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BlackEdelweiss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572538#Comment_120572538

There is always one who has to bring the comments to this level, wouldn't be boards without it unfortunately.

It is always easy to spot something after the fact, the warning signs are obvious. At the time, they are not so clear.

I lived abroad for 6 years, I have booked one nct online in my life before this. I don't know what functions the site is meant to have or what is required from me to get an nct. I had no reason to suspect that the nct system would be subject to a scam.

Regarding my daughter, she was 18 at the time of her incident. She received a call from a guy with a very convincing story and a lot of technology/software that allowed him to come across as very convincing. He put an urgency on the call saying that the account was in danger while they spoke, he was able to tell her transactions she had made and could navigate around her account. This made his story very believable. All he could not do was transfer the money out of her account without her assigning him permission by changing a setting. He spent over an hour and a half building his story, gaining her trust and masquerading as someone trying to help her while another bad guy was trying to steal her money.

To her credit, and despite the pressure being put on her by a well trained fraudster, she started to get suspicious and began to transfer all of her money out of the account while on the phone to him, while pretending to be a dumb, online banking illiterate kid, while he was instructing her about the settings that needed changing.

So yes, two of us got caught by scammers. Aren't we the fcuking idiots. And you, so smart up there in your tower looking down on the rest of us.

antodeco

Just checked the site there. They're charging €76, so it could just be someone taking the €20 for themselves and just booking it manually!

Also, they're looking for a full address, which is not needed for an NCT. Lots of things screaming out as scam!

It also says you need to fill in certain things in order to "sit your exam"!

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572538#Comment_120572538

I'd guess that 99% of the public should do that course!

LIGHTNING

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120571938#Comment_120571938

I don't mean to be rude but it sounds like your family needs some basic cybersecurity training.

BlackEdelweiss

Yeah, I done mine in bed on my phone. Never suspected something like the nct would get scammed.

I received 3 emails from them so far, definitely putting in the work. Trying to maintain the charade as long as possible so people forget about it.

My daughter got scammed by someone claiming to be from Revolut a few months ago. He was so professional and had such a good story he really had her going. Only for she got suspicious near the end and she transferred all her money out of her account while she pretended she was trying to find some detail for him. He was actually in her account at the time pretending to be trying to stop some guy in the middle East emptying her account

jagged

I got caught on Saturday too, and received the same response, had to cancel my revolut also. Not expecting much of a refund. That's what I get for rushing I guess.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120571474#Comment_120571474

Did they charge a fee for all these services OP?

Did they give you a date and time on the website or said they would email when they had one?

Seth Brundle

It looks to be operated by a company called RSM Safety Solutions LTD and the website domain was created on Oct 20th 2021.

According to a company lookup, they are owned by a lad called Raghubir Singh and their address is 68 Swan Bank, Wolverhampton WV4 5PZ, United Kingdom.

Nonetheless, wouold I trust them? Hell, no!

BlackEdelweiss

I got this reply to my initial email requesting a refund before I thought it was a scam. Are they just putting a good effort into the scam? Interesting to see if I get a refund.

shane b

Feel sorry for you. Has a lot of similiar content to the real site. Seems the owner of the site is based in Wolverhampton in the uk.

BlackEdelweiss

Yeah, I've had to cancel all my banking, cards etc. ****.

Kimbot

The nct is www.ncts.ie so yes you hit a scam site.