Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Glynn on November 24, 2004, 09:09:54 pm
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Subject: FW: Phone scam warning
Not sure how true this is?
Subject: FW: Phone scam warning
Importance: High
We have been advised of a telephone fraud currently in operation (this
applies to home and/or work telephones - land lines and mobiles):
If you do receive one of these calls, upon answering the
telephone,
you will hear a recorded message congratulating you on winning an all
expenses trip to an exotic location. You will then be asked to press 9
to> hear further details. If you press 9 you will be
connected to a premium rate line that costs approximately £20 per
minute.
Even if you disconnect immediately, it will remain connected for a
minimum
of 5 minutes, costing around £100. The final part of the call involves
you
being asked to key your postcode and house number (which has other serious consequences). After a further 2 minutes
you
will receive a message informing you that you are not one of the lucky
winners. The total bill
will be £260.
Since the calls are originating from outside the UK, BT and
other
telephone companies are left relatively powerless to act. The only
safe
solution is to HANG UP before the message prompts you to press 9; even
safer is to HANG UP on any unsolicited 'free offer' call. This appears to be a variation on a theme, warnings have been
sent
previously regarding calls made by individuals claiming to be engineers
conducting a test on the line and asking for 9, 0# and text messages
similar to the routine
described above. DO NOT DIAL 9 (OR 9,0# OR 0,9#) FOR ANYONE! BT has
been
contacted and confirmed the details as being true.
There is another scam operating on Mobile Phones.
A Missed Call comes up. The number is 0709 020 3840. The last four
numbers
may vary but certainly the first numbers will remain the same. If you
call
this number back, you will be charged £50 per minute. People have
complained about their phone bills, once they have
realised the cost of the call but apparently this is completely legal.
So
beware, do not call back numbers beginning with 0709.
Please pass this information on.
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This and similar scams have been around for a while.
Take care
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Thanks Glynn,
Havent heard of these but will now be on my guard just incase. Could be a costly mistake!
Thanks mate,
Jason.
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I get this call virtually everyday I always hang up.
Jenny however is tempted to press 9 to see if our luck has changed.
My printing paper has moved but will print this out when found.
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Its sort of true but you cant be charged £20 a min.
According to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS).
Over the last few days ICSTIS has received hundreds of enquiries about the above 'scam', which is being widely publicised by e-mail. To help us put an end to the current spate of enquiries, please pass this information on to all contacts.
The apparent 'deception' takes place when people receive a recorded message informing them that they have won an all-expenses paid holiday and are asked to press 9 to hear further details. It is then claimed that callers are connected to a £20.00 per minute premium rate line that will still charge them for a minimum of five minutes even if they disconnect immediately. It is also claimed that, if callers stay connected, the entire message lasts for approximately 11 minutes, costing £220.00. Please note this is not true.
A £20.00 per minute premium rate tariff does not exist - the highest premium rate tariff available is £1.50 per minute. Despite the hundreds of enquiries received by ICSTIS about this 'scam' (and most have heard about it second or third-hand), not one person who claims that it has actually happened to them has been able to produce a phone bill to support their story.
ICSTIS urges any individual or organisation that receives an e-mail about this scam to delete it immediately. Please do not forward it on to others.
However, while there are no £50-a-minute scams out there to worry about, frauds that operate along the same line (but at far lower rates) do exist and do take in the unwary. The problem of mobile phone users receiving "missed call" notifications soliciting them to dial numbers for which they will be charged at rates higher than they might otherwise expect is on the rise. Those so duped get drawn into returning calls that promise they've won prizes and thence into staying on the line in pursuit of same while the meter runs.
Mark