Phone fraud
(a)There is a telephone fraud currently in operation - this applies to home and work
telephones, landlines and mobiles. If you receive one of these calls, upon answering
the telephones 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 in 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 by then will be £100.
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 dial 9, even safer HANG UP on any unsolicited
'free offer calls'.
I know of a number of people (including myself) who have received this type of call
at home.
(b) There is apparently another scam operating on mobile phones as well. A missed
call comes up, the number is 0709 020 3840, the last four numbers may vary, but
certainly the first four 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, (a) disconnect the call as soon as you hear recorded message
congratulating you on winning an all expenses trip to an exotic location, and (b)do
not call back numbers beginning with '0709'.
PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION ONTO YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS