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Warning - being scammed by John Abraham

Received a phone call from John Abraham to advise me that my broadband was being compromised. He said he was from BT and gave me his number as 02032894184. He told me to switch of my broadband devices off. I did a google search and found the phone number was not be trusted. I phoned my ISP to advise. I did not follow his instructions and effectively ignored him. Does anyone know how I can escalate ?
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  • Silvertabby
    Silvertabby Posts: 10,880
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    It's a known scam. As long as you didn't follow 'John's' instructions to allow him access to your computer (so he could fix the problem/rob you blind) you'll be ok.

    What did your ISP say when you reported it? They may have their own protocols for dealing with these ratbags.
  • mije1983
    mije1983 Posts: 3,665
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    Just block the number. They'll have nothing to do with BT.


    You can report to the ICO but as they aren't actually genuine businesses then it won't make much difference. As soon as one number gets shut down another will pop up. The likelihood is that the number is not genuine either.


    https://ico.org.uk/concerns/nuisance-calls-and-messages/spam-texts-and-nuisance-calls/
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 26,612
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    Mchambers wrote: »
    Does anyone know how I can escalate ?
    Who are you going to report to? You've just received a scam call. Next time, you'll know simply to replace the receiver on such calls.
  • LABMAN
    LABMAN Posts: 1,659
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    Escalate as in 'compensation'?
  • mije1983
    mije1983 Posts: 3,665
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    LABMAN wrote: »
    Escalate as in 'compensation'?


    Only if it was their bank calling......
  • peter_the_piper
    peter_the_piper Posts: 30,269
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    We get 2 or 3 a day from the BT Technical department saying our broadband line is at fault, when told we don't have broadband on that line the phone goes dead. Strange how the windows tecnical department has morphed into bt.
    I'd rather be an Optimist and be proved wrong than a Pessimist and be proved right.
  • ElefantEd
    ElefantEd Posts: 1,242
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    I suppose you could escalate things by ignoring him more pointedly. Apart from that, let it go.
  • robatwork
    robatwork Posts: 7,369
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    Mchambers wrote: »
    Received a phone call from John Abraham to advise me that my broadband was being compromised. He said he was from BT and gave me his number as 02032894184. He told me to switch of my broadband devices off. I did a google search and found the phone number was not be trusted. I phoned my ISP to advise. I did not follow his instructions and effectively ignored him. Does anyone know how I can escalate ?

    BT probably owe you some sort of compensation, as it's their phone network the scammers are using. Don't rest until this is escalated to a higher power. Your MP, Trump and Xi Jinping would be a start.

    Bear in mind it's fairly simple for scammers to spoof outgoing phone numbers now.
  • eschaton
    eschaton Posts: 2,307
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    Mchambers wrote: »
    Received a phone call from John Abraham to advise me that my broadband was being compromised. He said he was from BT and gave me his number as 02032894184. He told me to switch of my broadband devices off. I did a google search and found the phone number was not be trusted. I phoned my ISP to advise. I did not follow his instructions and effectively ignored him. Does anyone know how I can escalate ?

    No .
  • AndyPix
    AndyPix Posts: 4,847
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    Mchambers wrote: »
    I did not follow his instructions and effectively ignored him.


    So what is there to escalate ?
    Somebody naughty calling you ?
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