[Hands0n]

There are several spoof email messages circulating the Internet about phone scams. The following is bona fide - I actually received one of these automated calls today! Fortunately I never follow through with the instructions .... :mad:



I have been asked to circulate the following warning from the police regarding a telephone fraud scam to all our staff. There appears to be very little that we or the telephone networks can do to stop the calls coming through, but it is imperative that we do not respond to the prompts. Read the text below and you'll understand why.

PHONE FRAUD - WARNING FROM THE POLICE 11 MAY 2005
We have been advised of a telephone fraud currently in operation - this applies to home and work telephones, landlines and mobiles. If you receive one of these calls, upon answering the telephone you will hear a recorded message congratulating you on winning an all expenses trip to an exotic location. You will then be asked to press 9 to hear further details. If you press 9 you will be connected to a premium rate line that costs approximately £20 per minute. Even if you disconnect immediately, it will remain connected for a minimum of 5 minutes costing around £ 100. The final part of the call involves you being asked to key in your postcode and house number, which has other serious consequences. After a further 2 minutes you will receive a message informing you that you are not one of the lucky winners. The total bill by then will be £100.Since the calls are originating from outside the UK, BT and other telephone companies are left relatively powerless to act. The only safe solution is to HANG UP before the message prompts you to dial 9, even safer HANG UP on any unsolicited 'free offer calls'. There is another scam operating on mobile phones as well. A missed call comes up. The number is 0709 020 3840, the last four numbers may vary, but certainly the first four will remain the same. If you call this number back you will be charged £50 per minute. People have complained about their phone bills, once they have realised the cost of the call, but apparently this is completely legal. So beware, do not call back numbers beginning with '0709'.

PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION ONTO YOUR FAMILY &FRIENDS


This appears to be a genuine scam doing the rounds in the UK at the moment!

[Jon3G]

I can confirm this is gen and its been around for ages now, Its nothing new but really be aware

[miffed]

I believe BT offer a service which prompts for a PIN before any premium rate connection is made - I'd guess that would do prevent the connection being made when you press 9 (if you were to fall for it )

This kind of thing really annoys me , specifically BT's "not my problem" attitude to this and rogue diallers etc
I understand they say they are powerless to stop it if the origin is not on home soil - fair enough , but as I understand it , under our law, customers need to be made aware that
1) they are about to connect to a premium service

2) how much this service will cost (someone please correct me if I'm wrong)

Now , if the networks /service providers that host these lowlifes choose not to impose any kind of policing to these issues then BT have an OBLIGATION to is customers to either

1) not interact with such networks
or
2) Issue a warning at the beginning of every call to or from a Provider who allows & profits from thee activities

I know option "1" sounds like a logistical nightmare - but needs must, and all that :o

[Hands0n]

I'm with Telewest - and they could care even less than BT about such matters! This is the extent of their help, gleaned from the website



Protect yourself from phone scams
There are several potential telephone scams operating currently. Please be aware that if you receive a recorded message offering you a prize or something similar & are asked to dial a 090 number, calls to these numbers incur significant charges, and the prize often does not exist. For more information go to www.icstis.org.uk and www.oic.gove.ie (this is a broken URL)
Please also be aware that Telewest does not sanction these calls.


But no mention of any help they will give, such as PIN blocking premium rate etc.

ICSTIS is powerless against internationally sourced scams. We really are on our own in this area at the moment! I've had to warn all my family and friends and their children - that's all you need is junior dialling "9".

Some days I just hate telephony :mad:

[solo12002]

FFS this is spam. Have you checked with BT