telephone scam - 21st Dec 2011 1:05pm
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.
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.