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BE AWARE OF THIS SCAM
received a phone call from 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 to re-connect at a later date. The guy
wasn't even fazed when I told him I was with Virgin
Media, allegedly Virgin have to pay BT a percentage
for line rental!
I asked the guy's name - he gave me the very
'English' John Peacock with a very 'African' accent &
phone number 0800 0800 152. Obviously the fellow
realized I didn't believe his story, so offered to
demonstrate that he was from BT. I asked how & he
told me to hang up & try phoning someone - he
would dis-connect my phone to prevent this. AND
HE DID !! 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 & 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, I didn't believe his name
or that he worked for BT. He hung up. I dialed 1471
-number withheld! I phoned his fictitious 0800
number - not recognized! So 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 as possible know of this
scam. The fact that the phone does go off would
probably convince some people it's real, so please
make as many friends & family aware of this.
HOW IS IT DONE???? 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. So you could almost be
convinced! The sad thing is that it is so simple that it
will certainly fool many.
BY THE WAY this is not about getting the cash as this
would not get past merchant services - it is all about
getting the credit card details which will include the
security number, to be used for larger purchases.

only works on analogue lines

For future reference: In certain situations if you should get a call to a
LANDLINE which you are unsure about in anyway. Do NOT replace the receiver. Leave it off the hook and call either BT or Police from another phone. The call could then possibly be traced. I am not sure how it would work with mobile phones.

The only way that could have been done was by someone near to the house, fiddling round with one of those green boxes you see on street corners, or "concentrators" as they are known, and physically disconnecting the line from the PSTN.

I keep having to call the mechanic in to fix my computer when the screen gets covered in Tippex.

Oh come on... please, police, someone has called me and I don't like them, could you trace the call please, I've left it off the hook.

Never going to happen. Put the phone down and move on with your life.

I stated in certain situations, which could mean abusive calls to women,

..Well tbh they shouldn't be on the phone in the first place unless there's one handy in the kitchen.

FYI IP checks are the same, when someone says 'omg the police will track your IP!' the paperwork involved and costs assosiated with actually tracking down information on the person that was using the line at that particular time just aren't worth it except for the most serious of cases. And, sorry to say, phone scams don't fall into that category.

..Well tbh they shouldn't be on the phone in the first place unless there's one handy in the kitchen.