New Phone Scam

PLEASE PASS ON.

The new telephone 'scam' has arrived.

You get a call from a 'representative' of BT, informing you that he is disconnecting you because of an unpaid bill. He demands payment immediately of £31.00, or it would be £118.00 to re-connect at a later date.

The guy is not even fazed when you tell him you are with Virgin Media etc...., allegedly they have to pay BT a percentage for line rental!

You ask the guy's name - the very 'English' John Peacock with a very 'African' accent - & phone number - 0800 0800 152

Obviously the fella realises you do not believe his story, so offers to demonstrate that he is from BT. You ask how & he tells you to hang up & try phoning someone - he would disconnect your phone to prevent this.

AND HE DOES!!

Your phone is dead - no engaged tone, nothing - until he phones you again.

Very pleased with himself, he asks if that was enough proof that he is with BT. You ask how the payment was to be made & he says credit card, there & then.
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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 & family aware of this.

This is good but not that clever. He gave the wrong number - it should have been 0800 800 152 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, vulnerable and Coupe owners.

Once they have your credit/debit card details, there is nothing to stop them cleaning out your account and buying an MX5

Good info there pal.

Thanks for the heads up.

thats wrong!!!!! i hate scamers

Glad I don't bother having a land line any more, it was only ever scams and the odd muppet trying to sell me a kitchen or double glazing anyway!

Worth being aware of though incase they do a similar thing with mobiles!

Unfortunately most scams like this are aimed at the old and less clued up members of society.

This particular scam is a couple of years old.

Others are if your card has been stolen mr fraudster calls you up and says hes calling from your bank and yours cards have been found please confirm your pin so he can cancel your card.

The you have won the nigerian lottery please can i have your bank details to send the payment too.

and lastly the fraudster calls up claims to be from your bank and you account details have been compromised please send all your cards to me at.

I used to work as a fraud investigator and dealt with victims of these crimes every day unusually and in my opinion the worst criminal in these cases is the banks who will often not pay out in these cases.