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Bogus Social Workers

Here's a report of bogus social workers in Queanbeyan (outside Canberra):

A COUPLE who allegedly pretended to be government caseworkers sent to do a welfare check on a mother’s two babies was let into her home after producing a fake identity card.

The pair visited the home in Karabar, near Queanbeyan in New South Wales, and spoke to the mother, who was there with her children, at about 4pm on Friday.

They claimed to be from the Department of Family and Community Service (FACS) and showed her an identity card as proof, according to police.

“The mother said the children were asleep and offered to call (the man and woman) to return when they woke but the pair said they would wait,” a NSW Police statement issued this afternoon read.

“A short time later, the mother presented the children to the pair in the lounge room.

“After checking the children and their bedroom, the pair left the home.”

The woman soon became suspicious and contacted a Queanbeyan FACS, who confirmed there was no record of the visit, and the matter was reported to police.
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www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/fake-facs-workers-talk-way-into-family-home-view-babies-and-check-bedrooms/news-story/a118c56a2011c1f9312ad5641c8fb44f
 
Mums and dads have been warned over a fake NHS worker going door-to-door offering to give children injections.
Parents are being told to exercise caution and be vigilant in North Staffordshire after the incidents were reported.

The mystery man has visited several addresses asking if any under-fives lived there.
He is believed to be targeting people in Stoke and Staffordshire, offering to undertake 'immunity injections'.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/ne...ke-nhs-17894723.amp?__twitter_impression=true
 
Tribble said:
Mums and dads have been warned over a fake NHS worker going door-to-door offering to give children injections.
Parents are being told to exercise caution and be vigilant in North Staffordshire after the incidents were reported.

The mystery man has visited several addresses asking if any under-fives lived there.
He is believed to be targeting people in Stoke and Staffordshire, offering to undertake 'immunity injections'.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/ne...ke-nhs-17894723.amp?__twitter_impression=true
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I posted this earlier in the week. The report I saw was local to Stoke and mentioned the street names.
 
On a related subject our local town here in New Jersey, USA, issued a warning about pretend CDC agents knocking on doors, reportedly taking advantage of coronavirus fears.
I can imagine the pitch. "Your money and credit cards, any that someone else may have handled recently, they may be infected, so let us take them for a good cleaning and return in a couple hours."
 
madmath said:
On a related subject our local town here in New Jersey, USA, issued a warning about pretend CDC agents knocking on doors, reportedly taking advantage of coronavirus fears.
I can imagine the pitch. "Your money and credit cards, any that someone else may have handled recently, they may be infected, so let us take them for a good cleaning and return in a couple hours."
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What I find really sad is that people will fall for this scam.
 
There's quite a few social media reports of bogus Red Cross workers and medics, going door to door in the UK/US/South Africa offering coronavirus testing. Unsurprisingly, police forces are denying anyone even reporting actual incidents.
 
A warning from the local Stoke on Trent council, not the police, about a report of a bogus social worker (that exact phrase) trying to access children at home.

I'm wondering why the police aren't acting on this if it's genuine. It's probably not.

Stoke-on-Trent schools issue warning after bogus social worker tries to get to children

(By Rob Andrews, Stoke Sentinel webpage)

Parents have been put on high alert after reports of a bogus social worker attempting to see children in their own homes.
A number of Stoke-on-Trent schools have issued the warning to parents after the alarm was raised.

They are being urged to contact Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire Police if they encounter the trickster.
The Willows Primary School, in Penkhull, is among the educational establishments to issue the warning.
The warning states: "Please be vigilant, we have had reports of a bogus social worker cold-calling and asking to see children in the household. Always ask to see ID and call 01782 233500 to check if the person is genuine. If at all concerned please call 101. Thanks you."
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" if they encounter the trickster "

Well at least they are looking in the right direction, although I don't think you will find him if you look for him
 
Just saw this odd post, supposedly originating from South Yorkshire Police, on facebook. Not exactly Bogus Social Workers, but still mysterious visitors claiming to be officials, entering people's homes for unknown purposes.
Message from SYP
We have been receiving calls with regards to a male and female attending homes where the new fibre broadband has been installed. The persons attend and say that they are there to check the fibre connection as the fibre lines have just been installed. The person will as for your mobile phone to run a check through Google. As yet we have not had any reports of the theft of a phone and it is unclear what the intentions are of the caller.
The male is described as having a "Foreign" accent and dressed in black with short black hair and stubble. The male has been seen wearing a British Rail coat on one occasion and a badge with "Money Expert" on it. The female is described as 5' 8" "Large" with blond hair and drives a Toyota Aygo in silver.
If anyone comes to your door with regards to the above please contact us immediately. If you have vulnerable family members or friends please call them ad advise of this possible scam.
Message Sent By
Andy Ireland (Police, PCSO, Central Doncaster)
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mariposacibernetico said:
Just saw this odd post, supposedly originating from South Yorkshire Police, on facebook. Not exactly Bogus Social Workers, but still mysterious visitors claiming to be officials, entering people's homes for unknown purposes.
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People casing houses for potential future burglaries? Having a look round your house and at your mobile phone to see if it's up to date enough for you to be liable to have stuff worth nicking?

It does seem odd though, most burglars are opportunist, not organised.
 
Oh, I've just had a thought...

I and many people I know, keep our bank cards in our phone cases. I wonder if the 'can I just see your mobile phone over here for a moment where you can't see what I'm doing' could be a way to quickly photograph the details on any cards that may be in the phone case? Or to get the phone number to clone for crime?

I admit that these sound a bit far fetched - there are far easier ways of getting people's card numbers and phone numbers than this! But there must be a reason....
 
I don't know if this is still the case—this article is four years old, eons in technological terms—but here's a warning about all the nasty things criminals can do with your mobile phone number:
https://www.inc.com/joseph-steinber...thout-having-to-actually-take-the-device.html
It does not matter if you use an iPhone or Android or something else - stealing your number circumvents not only the security on your device, but also the second factor authentication texts that are so commonly used for improved security by banks, social media companies, Google, etc. They can also send texts as you - likely allowing them to scam some of your friends and relatives into installing malware by sending some link to be clicked, or even into sending them money to deal with an emergency situation.
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I'm not sure what position this puts anyone in who has to share their phone number to rent a car, order groceries or look for work.
 
catseye said:
People casing houses for potential future burglaries? Having a look round your house and at your mobile phone to see if it's up to date enough for you to be liable to have stuff worth nicking?

It does seem odd though, most burglars are opportunist, not organised.
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Triggered.

Burglar Bill.jpg
 
IbisNibs said:
I don't know if this is still the case—this article is four years old, eons in technological terms—but here's a warning about all the nasty things criminals can do with your mobile phone number:
https://www.inc.com/joseph-steinber...thout-having-to-actually-take-the-device.html

I'm not sure what position this puts anyone in who has to share their phone number to rent a car, order groceries or look for work.
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Or buy practically ANYTHING on the Internet these days. They all want your phone number 'in case of supply problems'. I'd guess that a lot of the 'things criminals can do with your phone number' is a touch of scaremongering. I think it's a bit like the 'don't give out your bank details' - you can give out your bank details to anyone, they can't steal your bank account, just don't give out your PIN.
 
catseye said:
I'd guess that a lot of the 'things criminals can do with your phone number' is a touch of scaremongering. I think it's a bit like the 'don't give out your bank details' - you can give out your bank details to anyone, they can't steal your bank account, just don't give out your PIN.
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I simply typed your words "things criminals can do with your phone number" into a search engine. It returned numerous possibilities, e.g.:

https://www.idstrong.com/sentinel/y...e-what-can-someone-do-with-your-phone-number/

https://www.rd.com/article/things-hackers-can-do-with-just-your-cell-phone-number/

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/tec...-with-just-your-cell-phone-number/ar-BB1b3PBH

Etc.

As to PINs, how many people choose unguessable PINs? I'd bet that a large percentage of people use obvious possibilities - 1111, 1234, 9999 and so on - or some version of their birthday. Not difficult for the evilly-intentioned to work out...

My advice? Assess on a case-by-case basis, and give the irreducible minimum of people info, and then only the bare minimum that they require.

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
I simply typed your words "things criminals can do with your phone number" into a search engine. It returned numerous possibilities, e.g.:

https://www.idstrong.com/sentinel/y...e-what-can-someone-do-with-your-phone-number/

https://www.rd.com/article/things-hackers-can-do-with-just-your-cell-phone-number/

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/tec...-with-just-your-cell-phone-number/ar-BB1b3PBH

Etc.

As to PINs, how many people choose unguessable PINs? I'd bet that a large percentage of people use obvious possibilities - 1111, 1234, 9999 and so on - or some version of their birthday. Not difficult for the evilly-intentioned to work out...

My advice? Assess on a case-by-case basis, and give the irreducible minimum of people info, and then only the bare minimum that they require.

maximus otter
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There is no accounting for stupidity, in the choosing of PINs. I have lost count of the number of my customers who stand in front of me saying their PIN aloud as they put it into the machine. And, with contactless technology, lots of people find remembering their PIN (which they now only need to input occasionally) very difficult, so they write it down on a bit of paper and keep it in their wallet.

Most of these do tend to be older people, because the younger ones have their PIN saved in Notes in their phones. But anyone who is the operator of an older model, please do encourage them not to do this!
 
catseye said:
There is no accounting for stupidity, in the choosing of PINs. I have lost count of the number of my customers who stand in front of me saying their PIN aloud as they put it into the machine. And, with contactless technology, lots of people find remembering their PIN (which they now only need to input occasionally) very difficult, so they write it down on a bit of paper and keep it in their wallet.

Most of these do tend to be older people, because the younger ones have their PIN saved in Notes in their phones. But anyone who is the operator of an older model, please do encourage them not to do this!
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Can I get an "Amen!" ?

I've queued behind someone at an ATM, and seen that their PIN was written on the card...

On a tangent, my father-in-law (who is never wrong...:rolleyes: ) cannot be dissuaded from believing that, if you type your PIN into the ATM back-to-front, it acts as a duress signal and automatically calls the police.

Everyone: This is not true!

maximus otter
 
When looking for satanic panic stuff, I came across this book on phantom social workers in the USA and it's actually pretty interesting. Most of the cases aren't exactly what I'd call paranormal but there's something quite creepy, quite off about them, that makes them distinctly fortean, I think.

The Child Stealers: Phantom Social Workers – An American Mystery
 
Kingsize Wombat said:
The "Mysterious Universe" Podcast featured Bogus Welfare workers as their theme this weekend, and came up with something worth listening to (it's been a while since that's been the case). They also offer a feasible solution as to what it is all about:
https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/01/27-02-mu-podcast-the-impersonators/

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Yes, I listened to this episode and I have to agree, when you break it down and examine what actually takes place then it is sadly some rather shoddy attempts to photograph children in a state of undress. Can only imagine there are people who will pay good money for these images on the dark web etc.
 
Paul_Exeter said:
Yes, I listened to this episode and I have to agree, when you break it down and examine what actually takes place then it is sadly some rather shoddy attempts to photograph children in a state of undress. Can only imagine there are people who will pay good money for these images on the dark web etc.
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Yes, this seems to be the main theory proposed in the book I just recommended too, although there are a number of outliers where that wouldn't quite fit either.

For anyone not inclined to read the book, the author did a pretty comprehensive podcast interview here: Who Are The Phantom Social Workers? With Martin Cannon
 
The fact that none of them were ever caught despite not being that conspicuous (has a car registration plate ever been taken or traced?) and vast amounts of police resources committed to the investigations

I tend to put it all down to mass hysteria and some people making up stories for attention, I mean it does tend to attract the attention especially when certain right wing newspapers decide to go on one of their moral crusades against Social Works (they can't do right for doing wrong as they say)

There were certain socioeconomic factors going on as well, it's interesting as a study into mass hysteria but for it ever happening, I doubt it very much
 
Robbrent said:
The fact that none of them were ever caught despite not being that conspicuous (has a car registration plate ever been taken or traced?) and vast amounts of police resources committed to the investigations

I tend to put it all down to mass hysteria and some people making up stories for attention, I mean it does tend to attract the attention especially when certain right wing newspapers decide to go on one of their moral crusades against Social Works (they can't do right for doing wrong as they say)

There were certain socioeconomic factors going on as well, it's interesting as a study into mass hysteria but for it ever happening, I doubt it very much
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There's at least one story so far where a guy was caught pretending to be an official so he could take pictures of poor immigrant children, which he then doctored to make CSA images to sell. The case was instrumental in bringing in new child pornography laws in the US, so I don't think it's always the case they're made up for attention, but there is a distinct whiff of satanic panic around a lot of the cases.

In the UK, the panics started up not long after a real nurse posing as a health visitor abducted a baby from the hospital, so it's a safe bet the fears around that fed into it too.
 
Robbrent said:
The fact that none of them were ever caught despite not being that conspicuous (has a car registration plate ever been taken or traced?) and vast amounts of police resources committed to the investigations

I tend to put it all down to mass hysteria and some people making up stories for attention, I mean it does tend to attract the attention especially when certain right wing newspapers decide to go on one of their moral crusades against Social Works (they can't do right for doing wrong as they say)

There were certain socioeconomic factors going on as well, it's interesting as a study into mass hysteria but for it ever happening, I doubt it very much
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Mass hysteria and misunderstanding, with a tiny bit of 'inept criminal thinking that saying 'I need to come in because I'm a social worker' will get them allowed into someone's house where they can pick up portable objects to steal and sell.' It would only take one person to say 'someone came to my door and said they were a social worker' (which may or may not have been factually correct), and the Chinese Whisper mentality will take over. Just try putting 'van seen driving around' in your local Facebook page, and suddenly everyone has seen a mysterious van up to all sorts down their road.
 
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