Is this a scam?

andyrules

Hi
Not sure if I'm in the right thread, so sorry if not!
I've just had a phone (land) message to arrange delivery of a radio (I haven't ordered one), giving a number to ring back. I rang to explain this, but there is just a voice message. It seemed very slow, and when I was told to get a pen to write down instructions, I rang off worried that I'm connected to an expensive scam number! Has anyone any idea? - the number is 07034247047. Thanks

hollydays

Interestingly i was about to post on the samesubject. It is a company called Bolt services-according to my service provider-google and see the results.A northern voice left a message leaving their number only,no message.It is a scam.,with the same number but one digit different left on my answerphone.I f you get any sense out of your service provider let me know what they said .My service provider was particularly obtuse-but i asked them to give me details of who the number belongs to.I googled on Bolt services and scam.service provider said it is a personal number service.They didnt leave any message at all about the radio,which is why i was suspicious.Very few people ring me and leave no message.

andyrules

Hi Hollydays
many thanks for replying. I'm with ntl, and I've already rung them - waste of time as they say it's nothing to do with them. I've tried looking up the number, but search came back with invalid number. What site did you use? My voice message is also with a northern accent. I'm with tps, so don't know why they are ringing, but then I guess if it's a scam.... maybe time to go ex-directory.
Cheers

hollydays

will pm you.THey also apparently have an association with a company called pdd comms (UK) of maidenhead but i have been unable to find anything on them .others might know of them.I just googled their name and scam once i had been given it.They charge 50p per minute edit- or more.MAybe if you ask them if you had a premium rate bar on your phone,would this have prevented you from calling them?

andyrules

MAybe if you ask them if you had a premium rate bar on your phone,would this have prevented you from calling them?

didn't know you could do that - good idea, I'll get on to it. :A

utilitybroker

andyrules wrote:

MAybe if you ask them if you had a premium rate bar on your phone,would this have prevented you from calling them?

didn't know you could do that - good idea, I'll get on to it. :A

Its not a premium rate number as such.They start 09.

Its a personal (follow me) number.

Code: 070 342
Type: Mobile
Use: Personal
Operator: Bolt Services
Tariff Band: Personal Numbers 50p (pn2) (inc VAT)
Service: Personal

Revenue sharing on them is supposed to be banned.But these people obviously get a cut off the revenue.So they scam people to ring the number.

bbb_uk

070x numbers are known as personal numbers and therefore would not be barred like 09x numbers would be.

Be very aware that calls to this number cost 47.5p per minute from a BT landline with calls from other landline providers and mobiles may (and normally do) cost more.

A lot of scam artists have started using high-priced 070x numbers so they can receive a revenue although they are not meant to just that clueless Ofcom haven't closed a loop-hole. These people/companies using 070x numbers so they can earn a revenue without all the hassle and safeguards that using an 09x (premium rate) number would have simply due to the fact that 09x numbers are regulated by ICSTIS whereas 070 personal numbers are not regulated whatsoever.

Basically, 070x personal numbers can be used as stealth premium rate numbers due to their high cost and the fact that they are so easily confused as being a mobile number.

Update:

Sorry for duplicate post - UtilityBroker. You must have got in there just as I was typing my response! LOL.

Heinz

To summarise, yes, it's a scam (the idea is that the receiver thinks it's a mobile number and calls back and then is held on the line as long as possible so the call cost is increased).

LilyThePink

I just did a google search on a number that just called my house (Thurs 3rd Jan 2008) and thankfully I came across this scam warning. The number was 0703 652 2238. When I picked up the phone the voice (can't tell if was a recorded message or not) said "Hello can you hear me?" (as though he couldn't hear me) and then the line went dead.

As a naturally suspicious person when it comes to unknown numbers(!) I didn't recognise the number so wanted to check out whether it was an area code on google. I guess I was supposed to call back but I didn't!

Thanks all!:T

angi0

LilyThePink wrote: »

I just did a google search on a number that just called my house (Thurs 3rd Jan 2008) and thankfully I came across this scam warning. The number was 0703 652 2238. When I picked up the phone the voice (can't tell if was a recorded message or not) said "Hello can you hear me?" (as though he couldn't hear me) and then the line went dead.

As a naturally suspicious person when it comes to unknown numbers(!) I didn't recognise the number so wanted to check out whether it was an area code on google. I guess I was supposed to call back but I didn't!

Thanks all!:T

Hi

I just got one of these too 0703 656 3923 I was also curious not knowing the number but wonder how many people get stung by these scams..

Angi0

Thunderstorm_2

I am on the Vodafone Network.
I have at least 3 PAYG and 1 Contract Voda Mobile phone(s).

For the past week, I have been receiving very annoying "silent" calls from the number below on my contract phone:

+440777097049

For the uninitiated, the number above is NOT a mobile number, though, it is designed to fool the average person into thinking that it is.
Doubltlessly, this is a scam, designed to get you to call back out of curiousity and incur expensive costs.

Please pay attention to the following observations concerning these calls;

* On answering the call (with a bluetooth headset - don't always have the time to look at the phone, or pull it out of my pocket) I can clearly hear muffled noises in the background, like an office. Nobody answers to my [EMAIL="hello@s"]hello's[/EMAIL].

* This is designed to make you believe that the line is faulty or your mobile phone has lost contact - and force you to call back to find who was trying to call you in the first place. DO NOT CALL BACK.

* The perpetrators are clearly depending on the victims curiousity to generate their illegal income that will result from your calling them. Don't call back. Ever.

* Just answering the call, even by accident, seems to mark you down as a potential victim - apparently, they will keep calling you back in the hope that you might eventually be gullible enough to call them back. Don't!

* None of my Voda PAYG phones has been called. Only my contract phone is being repeatedly targetted. I doubt this is a coincidence.

* If you don't answer the call, they will eventually ring off.

* This scam depends on the victim mistaking the number for a mobile phone. I almost got suckered into dialling back, but did not - there should be NO +440777 mobile numbers. It is a "Personal Number" behind which the caller is hiding.

* Calling this number back could cost you anything from 50p all the way up to £1.50 a minute. You could be tricked into believing that you have won a prize holiday, have a parcel pending delivery, have to navigate some bogus automated selection system before you get to speak to someone - or worse still, be given an 0906 number to get more information on (That's another premium rate number that will also be financially crippling to call from a mobile phone in particular. Anything that might keep you on your mobile phone for over 10 minutes while you get bilked.

This is obvoiusly some scam, but despite looking for information via Google, I am finding no information on it - hence this post.

Apologies for the lengthy post, but people have to be warned!