|
|
'Dial 9' Telephone Scam Warning
|
Beware of telephone fraud
Another telephone fraud is in operation using incoming calls to your landline or your mobile.
When you anwser your phone you will hear a recorded message congratulating you on winning some
wonderful prize. No-one enters you in a free prize draw without them getting something out of it, so be
suspicious immediately.
You will then be asked to press 9 to hear further details. DO NOT PRESS 9.
As soon as you press the digit 9 you will be connected to a premium rate telephone line that
will charge you up to £20.00 per minute. Even if you hang up your phone it will not
disconnect the call because they originated the call and will continue to charge you for 5 minutes or longer.
The call will be designed to keep you on the phone for as long as possible in
order for you to confirm confidential details in order to claim the prize. By now you should have
guessed that there is no prize and as with all phone scams, you wont find out about it until your
phone bill arrives.
The best action to take when you receive these calls is to immediately hang up and not follow the instructions.
These companies operate from outside the UK and are therefore not governed by UK regulators and
legislation.
There appears to be other variations on this theme.
We have also heard of people receiving calls from individuals claiming to be BT engineers conducting a test
and asking for you to press 9.
BT has warned consumers not to dial 9 for anyone as this is not a normal procedure.
Scams on Mobile Phones
Similar scams are operating on mobile phones. The most common ones are as follows:
1) You receive a missed call from a number beginning with 07090;
Beware of all mobile numbers beginning with this code, they are premium rate and will be
outside of any inclusive call allowance that you may have for calling different networks.
2) You receive a text message saying that someone you know would like to meet you for a date.
Don't get carried away thinking your love life has just taken a turn for the better, this is a con
designed to get you to reply to the text message for which you will be charged at a premium rate.
|
| | |
|
