Oxhill News

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South Warwickshire, England.

The Oxhill News

October 2009

This months News

Contents

 

Beware!  Phones and Post Scams!

I recently received the following e-mail from a friend.

I received a call from a 'representative' of BT, informing me that he was dis-connecting me because of an unpaid bill.  He demanded payment immediately of £31.00, or it would be £ 118.00 to re-connect at a later date.  The guy wasn't even fazed when I told him I was with Virgin Media; allegedly you have to pay BT a percentage for line rental!

I asked the guy's name - the very 'English' John Peacock with a very 'African' accent - & phone number - 0800 0800 152.  Obviously the fella realized I didn’t believe his story, so offered to demonstrate that he was from BT.  I asked how & he told me to hang up & try phoning someone - he would dis-connect my phone to prevent this.  AND HE DID!!  My phone was dead - no engaged tone, nothing - until he phoned me again.  Very pleased with himself, he asked if that was enough proof that he was with BT.  I asked how the payment was to be made; he said credit card, there & then.  I said that I didn't know how he'd done it, but I had absolutely no intention of paying him, I didn't believe his name or that he worked for BT.

He hung up.  Did 1471 & phoned his fictitious 0800 number - not recognised.  I phoned the police to let them know; I wasn't the first!  It's only just started apparently but it is escalating.  Their advice was to let as many people know by word of mouth of this scam.  The fact that the phone does go off would probably convince some people it's real, so please let as many friends & family aware of this.

Comment from Crawley Police Station NPT Department

And not only would you lose £31 if you fell for this scam but these people use your credit card details to order goods from legitimate companies and then have them delivered to their address.  The first you would know about it is a hefty debit on your credit card statement from a company you had never heard of.

There was also a postal scam highlighted on Watchdog recently whereby you find a card from a supposed private parcel delivery service saying they had been unable to deliver a parcel and to phone a number.  When you phone they ask for a £2.50 redelivery fee and of course you can pay by giving them your credit card details.  They subsequently use the details given to order lots of items under £500 from different companies.  This is because the credit card companies are on the lookout for unusual high value transactions on your account and will possibly pick it up and contact you to see if it is legit.  Police reckon the perpetrators of this particular scam have netted millions over the last couple of years.

To quote Hill Street Blues - Be VERY careful out there!!

Gaynor Van Dijk

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Last modified: October 05, 2009