Business telecommunications and IT systems

Newbury-based, IT and telecoms provider, du Pré plc, is warning UK businesses of the latest fraud attempt where BT customers are being coerced into par ting with vital credit card information.

In what is described as a most simple and successful act of fraud, customers are receiving telephone calls from callers falsely claiming to be from BT. They are then told that a fictitious outstanding bill must be paid immediately by credit card otherwise the line will be cut off.

The Scam

The caller goes on to ‘demonstrate’ their authenticity by inviting the person to hang up the line whereupon it will be ‘cut off’ for one minute.

Once the person hangs up and lifts the handset again, they find it is indeed cut off. However, the caller has simply failed to hang up the line and has only placed the person on ‘mute’, thus giving silence at the other end while not actually clearing down the call.

Once the victim hangs up again, the caller quickly hangs up their end (thus clearing the line) and calls the person back, demonstrating that the line is now ‘reconnected’.

Many people have fallen for this fraudulent activity and have parted with all their personal credit card information.

"This is Fooling many People"

Simon Jones, Group Marketing Manager at du Pré, explains why this level of fraud is so effective for the criminals. "More often than not, the more simple an act of fraud is, the more likely someone is to become a victim. People are wary of sophisticated attempts and become suspicious at something out of the ordinary. But a simple demonstration like this will fool many people."

Simon continued, "A good test is to listen for any background noise to the call. Genuine BT employees often have a level of general ‘call centre noise’ in the background, so silence should always ring alarm bells with you. Also, ask the caller to prove they are who they say. This could be done by asking them for some information on your account which you can check."

BT advises "Be Extra Cautious"

BT is fully aware of the problem and also has been advising customers to be extra cautious of calls at the moment. Simon explains, "Given that BT knows all about this scam, they are fully expecting customers to request a test of authenticity so they should be very accommodating in these circumstances."

Who is most Vulnerable?

Jon Dawkins, du Pré's Telephony Technical Manager, advises, "Apart from domestic consumers, many businesses have single lines for specific reasons. All are vulnerable. I've seen many telephony frauds in the past, but this one is effecting everyone, and is so, so simple.

"The reality is that anyone with a single line is a potential victim."

How can du Pré Help?

If you receive any telephone calls which cause you to be suspicious at all, call our Support department on 0845 34 55 66, mention this news item, and ask if we can speak to BT on your behalf.