PLEASE READ: RE: Competition Scam

sarahlouise210

I actually had a call saying I had won a holiday from a real live person! Now I like many others on this site do enter a competition or two, so it was possible. I listened for a while but it was only when he said that I had entered the competition last year so may have forgotten about it that I thought SCAM ! We lived in a different house and had a different telephone number last year ! Bye Bye Mr scamming man!:p We have had lots of the recorded messages as well though and they are almost as annoying as the frog!

Galstonian

Its on snopes. The scam is real, the £20/minute is a hoax.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/mobile.asp

Frogling

sarahlouise210 wrote:

they are almost as annoying as the frog!

I hope you mean the frog adverts and not me lol!

MarkyMarkD

Galstonian wrote:

Its on snopes. The scam is real, the £20/minute is a hoax.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/mobile.asp

"The scam is real" ... well, not really. Pressing "9" won't connect you to any line cost you anything at all. The only scam mentioned in the snopes site is one where the message says "please call (insert premium rate number here) because you've won (whatever)". That's not the same as this hoax, and obviously that CAN cost you money - but it's pretty obvious that dialling a number of your own volition will cost a phone user money.

Dialling "9" during an incoming call can't turn it into an outbound call. So it can't cost you anything at all.

Iffy_Wallet

Hmmn. Got a "you've won oodles and oodles - please press 9" call last night.

Now if the line had been tied up for hours whilst on the internet, I could understand how they left a message. But the phone line wasn't in use for hours - so how did they manage to leave a message on there?

I asked BT a few weeks ago if it was possible to take calls from an unanswered mobile and put it onto the home phone anwering service without ringing. They say "no" - totally impossible. On the other hand these jokers seem to be doing something like that. I think it is time I had a serious word with BT and got the truth out of them. (Are they being paid to dump this rubbish on our phones?).

whitty999

Wished i had seen this posted last year,happened many times to me,could not disconnect either,My son pressed 9 a few times but not sure if it was added to my phone bill,but phone bill did come in at 395.00 for a quater,thought it was kids phoning mobiles.

whitty999

Iffy_Wallet wrote:

Hmmn. Got a "you've won oodles and oodles - please press 9" call last night.

Now if the line had been tied up for hours whilst on the internet, I could understand how they left a message. But the phone line wasn't in use for hours - so how did they manage to leave a message on there?

I asked BT a few weeks ago if it was possible to take calls from an unanswered mobile and put it onto the home phone anwering service without ringing. They say "no" - totally impossible. On the other hand these jokers seem to be doing something like that. I think it is time I had a serious word with BT and got the truth out of them. (Are they being paid to dump this rubbish on our phones?).

That has happened to me a phone message but no ringing tone,Did you have any luck with BT?

BenefitMaster

Iffy_Wallet wrote:

I asked BT a few weeks ago if it was possible to take calls from an unanswered mobile and put it onto the home phone anwering service without ringing. They say "no" - totally impossible.

Strangely, BT seem to be able to do it when it suits them...

MDUK

Strangely, BT seem to be able to do it when it suits them...

Do what when it suits them? it isn't technically possible, apply some common sense, think about it. Also, how is this a BT issue? Bash them when they're at fault don't just bring into the argument for a bit of "BT bashing" take it up with ICSTIS who are responsible for controlling premium rates.

As far as the original post goes,no wonder myths continue to spread, don't just pass it, question it. Google is a great source of information. No premium rates exist at £20 a minute.

from the Ofcom website
Premium rate services offer information and entertainment via phone, fax, PC (e-mail, Internet, bulletin board), mobile (SMS/WAP) or interactive digital TV. Services range from sports, voting and sex lines to competition, directory enquiry, chat and business information services and charitable donations. They currently vary in cost from 10 pence per call to £1.50 per minute.

BFG_2

Please be aware that a new scam is going around. It consists of an email telling of a scam where pressing '9' on your phone during the incoming scam-call, you are charged £20 per minute.

If you pass this false scam email onto other people by using the forward button on your email system, your PC system will automatically connect to an ISP who charges £5000 per minute and actually takes over your mind and makes you attack old ladies.

Please, please don't fall for this scam, as I know a friend of a friend of a bloke down the pub's window cleaner's sister who forwarded it and they have had to sell their house and children to pay the bill and they are inside for 6 months.:eek:

You have been warned.

The moral of the story is to check out www.snopes.com before blindly forwarding 'scams'.:D