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This has been passed on to me by family and I am passing it on because it is a seriou
Caretaker41
Posts: 1 Newbie
[FONT="]PLEASE PASS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY.[/FONT]
[FONT="]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. [/FONT]
[FONT="]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 and he said credit card, there and 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.
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.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]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. [/FONT]
[FONT="]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 and he said credit card, there and 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.
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.
[/FONT]
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Comments
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Ah, the old ones are the best.0
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Enfieldian wrote: »Ah, the old ones are the best.
It may be old but I hadn't heard of this particular approach.
It's well worth posting because it's the sort of thing that could catch out anyone who actually has a BT line and people do tend to panic and rush to do what is necessary to avoid large penalty payments.There are two types of people in the world: Those that can extrapolate information.0 -
It has been around for a couple of years at least.
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/bt-unpaid-bill-phone-scam.shtml0 -
I knew about this from about birth. When a (particular) boyfriend particularly annoyed me I used to phone his house, talk to him then never hang up, thus rendering his line unusable. Eventually he came to his senses and dumped me. He chose ease of communication over me, and who can blame him, frankly?"Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell" - Edward Abbey.0
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fluffnutter wrote: »I knew about this from about birth. When a (particular) boyfriend particularly annoyed me I used to phone his house, talk to him then never hang up, thus rendering his line unusable. Eventually he came to his senses and dumped me. He chose ease of communication over me, and who can blame him, frankly?
Very apt user name.
You sound like one of my exes. Well, all of them actually......
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Enfieldian wrote: »Very apt user name.
You sound like one of my exes. Well, all of them actually......
Oh no, don't tell me we have a reunion on here!:DKate short for Bob.
Alphabet thread High Priestess of all things unsavoury
Tesla was a genius.0 -
fluffnutter wrote: »I knew about this from about birth. When a (particular) boyfriend particularly annoyed me I used to phone his house, talk to him then never hang up, thus rendering his line unusable. Eventually he came to his senses and dumped me. He chose ease of communication over me, and who can blame him, frankly?
I love that.
A really quirky and inventive way to handle the problem.
There are two types of people in the world: Those that can extrapolate information.0 -
It looks like the OP's text has just been copied & pasted from an email that was doing the rounds a few years ago. It's obviously not something that the OP has experinced themselves of they'd report it in their own words... Attention seeking, perhaps?
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/btscam.asp0 -
Urban MythHi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam0
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