forthhibby
30-09-2009, 08:45 AM
i know there are lots of these emails doing the rounds, but check internet and there is some truth in this one, sorry if it's been posted before.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8263637.stm
A new telephone 'scam' has arrived.
I received a call from a 'representative of BT" saying they were about to disconnecting my line due to an unpaid bill. He demanded payment immediately of £31.00 or it would cost me £118.00 to re-connect at a later date.
The guy wasn't even fazed when I told him I was with Virgin Media. He maintained that Virgin have to pay BT a percentage for line rental!
I asked for his name - it was a very English sounding John Peacock.
But he had a very African accent ! He gave me his phone number which was 0800 0800 152.
The guy realized I wasn't believing his story, so offered to
demonstrate that he was from BT. He said he could easily disconnect my
phone at any time - why didn't I hang up then try phoning somebody. He said he could easily disconnect my line and prevent me from doing so.
AND HE DID. My phone was dead - no engaged tone, nothing - until he phoned me again a few minutes later. Very pleased with himself, he asked if that was enough proof that he was with BT.
I asked how the payment was to be made & he said credit card, there & then.
I said that I didn't know how he'd done it, but I had absolutely no intention of paying him, adding that I didn't believe any of his story or that he was was working for BT. He hung up.
I rang his 0800 number - it was not recognised.
I phoned the police to let them know and unsurprisingly, I wasn't the first. It has evidently only just started to happen, but it is escalating. And of course, once they have your credit card details, the sky is the limit...... scary.
Their advice was to let as many people know by word of mouth of this scam. The fact that the phone does go dead is often enough to convince some people it's real, so please let as many friends & family aware of this.
What was interesting :
They said it was a clever scam - but not that clever ! The guy gave me the wrong number - it should have been 0800 800152 which takes you through to BT Business. As for the "cutting off" of my line, that was simple: the fraudster stays on the line (with the mute button on) which means you cannot dial out. He can hear you trying of course. As the person who made the call has to be the one who terminates it, you are unable to hang up or cut the call off. You cannot cut off an incoming call.
So when he hears that you have finally given up trying to dial out, he then hangs up and immediately calls you back. You could almost be convinced!
The sad thing is that it is so simple that it will certainly fool the elderly and vulnerable.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8263637.stm
A new telephone 'scam' has arrived.
I received a call from a 'representative of BT" saying they were about to disconnecting my line due to an unpaid bill. He demanded payment immediately of £31.00 or it would cost me £118.00 to re-connect at a later date.
The guy wasn't even fazed when I told him I was with Virgin Media. He maintained that Virgin have to pay BT a percentage for line rental!
I asked for his name - it was a very English sounding John Peacock.
But he had a very African accent ! He gave me his phone number which was 0800 0800 152.
The guy realized I wasn't believing his story, so offered to
demonstrate that he was from BT. He said he could easily disconnect my
phone at any time - why didn't I hang up then try phoning somebody. He said he could easily disconnect my line and prevent me from doing so.
AND HE DID. My phone was dead - no engaged tone, nothing - until he phoned me again a few minutes later. Very pleased with himself, he asked if that was enough proof that he was with BT.
I asked how the payment was to be made & he said credit card, there & then.
I said that I didn't know how he'd done it, but I had absolutely no intention of paying him, adding that I didn't believe any of his story or that he was was working for BT. He hung up.
I rang his 0800 number - it was not recognised.
I phoned the police to let them know and unsurprisingly, I wasn't the first. It has evidently only just started to happen, but it is escalating. And of course, once they have your credit card details, the sky is the limit...... scary.
Their advice was to let as many people know by word of mouth of this scam. The fact that the phone does go dead is often enough to convince some people it's real, so please let as many friends & family aware of this.
What was interesting :
They said it was a clever scam - but not that clever ! The guy gave me the wrong number - it should have been 0800 800152 which takes you through to BT Business. As for the "cutting off" of my line, that was simple: the fraudster stays on the line (with the mute button on) which means you cannot dial out. He can hear you trying of course. As the person who made the call has to be the one who terminates it, you are unable to hang up or cut the call off. You cannot cut off an incoming call.
So when he hears that you have finally given up trying to dial out, he then hangs up and immediately calls you back. You could almost be convinced!
The sad thing is that it is so simple that it will certainly fool the elderly and vulnerable.