Sky Scam

slinga · 22 September 2009 at 1:23PM

Dunno where to put this, move if necessary.

There is a phone call scam going the rounds where you get a phone call and are asked if you are a Sky subscriber.

I had a call this morning and I just did the 'hang on someone at the door', thingy

I think it's a similar scam to the one below.

''I received a call from a 'representative' of BT, informing me that he was dis-connecting me because of an unpaid bill. He demanded payment immediately of £31.00 , or it would be £ 118.00 to re-connect 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 - & phone number - 0800 0800 152.

Obviously the fella realized I wasn't believing 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.

Did 1471 & phoned his fictitious 0800 number - 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.''

Apparently they 'disconnect' your line after you hang up by pressing the mute at their end but not hanging up themselves, then when you dial out you get silence.

Any comments on this?????????

skylight · 22 September 2009 at 1:34PM

Its a known scam and BT have done a press release about it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8263637.stm

You hang up, they keep the phone line on (they don't hang up) and remain silent. You think the phone is dead and they ring back a while later.

Gits. Glad that you spotted the scam and refused to pay out. All I can suggest is that you talk to all your vulnerable relatives/friends and warn them.

verbyl.belch · 22 September 2009 at 1:57PM

Thank you for posting this - just sent a condensed version to my parents. Its a relatively clever/simple scam which I can see people falling for.

brewerdave · 23 September 2009 at 8:07AM

Sorry .....but why is this a Sky scam?? The phone cut off scam is about BT???
Are u sayimg they claim you owe money to Sky for line rental ????

Heinz · 23 September 2009 at 9:34AM

It's not even about BT. It's a scam telephone call, nothing more.

underlay_guru · 23 September 2009 at 9:40AM

brewerdave wrote: »

Sorry .....but why is this a Sky scam?? The phone cut off scam is about BT???
Are u sayimg they claim you owe money to Sky for line rental ????

The OP stated that the caller asked if he was a Sky subscriber..
...therefore I am taking a very uneducated guess they want to target Sky subscribers :rolleyes:, and therefore their scam involves the use of the Sky brand:rolleyes:

I was going to direct you to whocallsme, but appears you already have...

McKneff · 23 September 2009 at 9:43AM

But its not SKY and you should be careful about your wording.

You should change your heading to Telephone Scam.

slinga · 23 September 2009 at 12:01PM

brewerdave wrote: »

Sorry .....but why is this a Sky scam?? The phone cut off scam is about BT???
Are u sayimg they claim you owe money to Sky for line rental ????

I got called by 'Sky' with a similar intent to the 'BT' scam I afterwards found out about and posted in quotes to save a long time typing in my own words.

I've tried to change the thread title to 'Sky' but am unable to do so.

Hope that clears things up.

I was trying to alert anybody to this scam who may not have heard of it, as I hadn't. .

setmefree2 · 23 September 2009 at 6:17PM

Got this e mail from a friend

THE NEW TELEPHONE 'SCAM' HAS ARRIVED.
I received a call from a 'representative' of BT, informing me that he was dis-connecting me because of an
unpaid bill. He demanded payment immediately of £31.00 , or it would be £ 118.00 to re-connect 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 - 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.
Dialled 1471 & phoned his fictitious 0800 number - not recognized. 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.

Real con job, don't get caught
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 and vulnerable.
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 include the security number so that it can be used for far larger purchases.