Question about 070 numbers

springer211

Wasn't sure where to post this question, but thought that people in this forum would be able to help regarding internet based scams.
Someone I know, who lives in another European country, has fallen for a job search scam. I'm trying to work out what they were trying to get from him (no money or bank details were exchanged AFAIK).
This 'allegedly from the UK' company was advertising for skilled jobs on a foreign website.
They were using 070 numbers, can these scammers make money receiving calls from abroad as well as the UK?
That would explain why they were advertising on foreign websites.

OneADay

Your friend should check their phone bill!
070 numbers are personal numbers, you ring and you pay £1+ a minute probably just for the privilege.

springer211

I know they are expensive, he didn't actually call them, he dealt with them via email. I'm trying to find out if 070 numbers work from abroad, because if they don't they must have been after something else if they advertised on a foreign website.

Mr_Toad

070 numbers are what's called a follow me number you can rent them and wherever you go you can set it up so that your calls are diverted to follow you.

All this comes at a price and can be very useful but they are often used by scammers as they are a premium rate number that looks like a mobile number.

There is a classic job searches scam and this sounds like one of them. The scammer sets up the 070 number and people seeking work or even an advertised job are encouraged to call the number.

There are no jobs and the scammer makes money from the incoming calls where all they hear is a long recorded message often getting them to call again or even another 070 number.

By the time people realise they are being played they've spent a load of money for nothing.

And just like any other number they work from abroad as +44 70 will work.

paddyrg

The person at the end of the line of the 070 usually does NOT get a slice of the action - however the operator will do well from it. The value to the scammer (and basically only scammers use 070 redirects any more) is that the call can redirect anywhere in the world - frequently to a West African mobile phone. This is why lots of Nigerian scammers use 070's and place fake job ads (and other scams)

Fake job scams will lead the victim on that the job is real, all is sorted, they just need to send £x for a visa, £y for a flight, £z for a spurious legal fee and will keep going until the victim has spent all they have and are left broke.

Mr_Toad

paddyrg wrote: »

The person at the end of the line of the 070 usually does NOT get a slice of the action - however the operator will do well from it. The value to the scammer (and basically only scammers use 070 redirects any more) is that the call can redirect anywhere in the world - frequently to a West African mobile phone. This is why lots of Nigerian scammers use 070's and place fake job ads (and other scams)

Fake job scams will lead the victim on that the job is real, all is sorted, they just need to send £x for a visa, £y for a flight, £z for a spurious legal fee and will keep going until the victim has spent all they have and are left broke.

Not true.

The scam you describe is certainly one use of 070 numbers, to hide the scammers who then con money out of people, however, as the OP stated in their post no money was requested or details given. In this particular type of scam the money comes from owning the the 070 number and getting the premium rate fees from unfortunate callers.

Calls are answered and the caller can get a variety of recordings, often a ring tone so the caller hangs on waiting to be answered totally unaware that they are paying a premium rate to listen to ring tone. Or they get long and rambling messages that cut off, the caller then calls back to try again and so it goes on.

http://www.express.co.uk/finance/crusader/421338/Costly-phone-scam-rips-off-jobseekers

paddyrg

End-user call revenue share for 070 numbers was banned in 2001 - if you believe this is the case here, then the service operator can be fined quite heavily - contact Ofcom/phonepayplus.

Whilst no money is usually requested in the initial stages of these scams, the scammers are still at the convincer stage, roping in 'employees'. The scripts develop. Anyone interested on this style of fraud can find out more on scamwarners.com or more in-depth on 419eater.com

smudger1964

The friday ad uses the 070 number if you place an advert in some of its sections they call it a "privacy" number piracy number more like I guess they must get the revenue from this if someone calls an ad in their paper.If I see someone using one of those numbers I wont call it out of principal however much I want the product being advertised
https://secure.friday-ad.co.uk/Paa2/Handlers/CmsTextHandler.ashx?id=153