Scam: Phone fraudsters pretending to be Ofcom and BT

Thursday, 17 September 2009 10:53

Brits are being warned about a new scam targeting people through their home phones.

Fraudsters are calling potential victims pretending to be Ofcom or BT and saying their telephone line needs digital upgrade work.

They claim unless a £6 fee is paid the line will be cut off. This is where they get hold of a person's bank or building society details.

Calls have been focussed on the West Midlands and victims have already lost money by handing over their card details.

Ofcom is sending a clear warning: "This is a scam."

The regulator added there are no such digital upgrade work occurring.

The criminals also claim a line will be temporarily disconnected but in fact they remain on the line and stop outgoing calls from happening.

If fraudsters do call you, the advice is not to give any personal or bank details away to unsolicited callers.

Also pass on the details of the call to your phone company's nuisance call bureau so the call can be traced.

If you have given your bank details away call your bank immediately and ask the bank to try to trace payments and cancel your card.

If you receive any details, pass them on to Ofcom or Consumer Direct.

Both Ofcom and BT have now alerted the relevant authorities for investigation.

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