News of a new telephone 'scam' has been forwarded to Audlem Online by a local resident who has been alerted to this latest problem by a contact of his, who writes:
“I received a call from a 'representative' of BT, informing me that he was disconnecting me because of an unpaid bill. He demanded payment immediately of £31.00, or it would be £118.00 to reconnect at a later date.
The guy wasn't even fazed when I told him I was with Virgin Media, allegedly VM have to pay BT a percentage for line rental! I asked the guy's name – the very 'English' John Peacock with a very 'African' accent – and phone number – 0800 0800 152.
Obviously the fellow realised I wasn't believing his story, so offered to demonstrate that he was from BT. I asked how and he told me to hang up and try phoning someone – he would disconnect my phone to prevent this.
My phone was dead – no engaged tone, nothing – until he phoned me again.
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 and he said credit card, there and then.
I said that I didn't know how he'd done it, but I had absolutely no intention of paying him, I didn't believe his name or that he worked for BT. He hung up.
I dialed 1471 and phoned his fictitious 0800 number – which was not recognised. I phoned the police to let them know, I wasn't the first! It's only just started apparently but it is escalating.
Their advice was to let as many people know by word of mouth of this scam. The fact that the phone does go off would probably convince some people it's real, so please let as many friends and family aware of this.
This is good but not that clever. He gave the wrong number – it should have been 0800 800152 which takes you through to BT Business.
The cutting off of the line is very simple: he stays on the line with the mute button on and you can't dial out – but he can hear you trying. (This is because the person who initiates a call is the one to terminate it.)
When you stop trying, he cuts off and immediately calls back. You could almost be convinced! The sad thing is that it is so simple that it will certainly fool the elderly and vulnerable.
Obviously, if this scam is real, once they have your credit/debit card details, there is nothing to stop them cleaning out your account.
Ofcom warningUK communications regulator OfCom has also posted a warning to consumers about the scam, saying:
Fraudsters are currently phoning consumers claiming to be from BT or Ofcom. They claim that the consumer's telephone line needs digital upgrade work. This, they say, will cost £6 and if it isn't paid within 10 days the consumer's phone line will be cut off.
In some cases, the fraudster will claim that the line needs testing and they will temporarily disconnect it. When the consumer tries to make an outgoing call they are unable to do so. This is simply because the fraudster is still on the line meaning no outbound calls can be made.
This is a scam. Ofcom and BT have alerted the relevant authorities for investigation.
This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.
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