The phone rings and, as soon as you answer, you hear an automatic machine saying: “Because you are a valuable… (name of a company) customer, you have received an appreciation gift. Please press 1 now.” The scam has two variations:

1. If you press 1 hoping to get your free prize, you could be kept on hold for several minutes, while your phone bill records “Premium” charging per minute; or be asked to call a toll-free number (situation in which the same thing can happen).

2. You will be invited to talk to a representative of the company. After he has congratulated you and told you more about the “gift” you have won, he will ask for your bank account details or your credit card number, explaining that there is a minor tax to pay on he gift.

How to avoid: winning things over the phone are never real, especially if they have the “valuable customer” approach.