Scam telephone BT calls

I got a very strange call from BT saying that I owed them £44 which I know is not true due to the fact that we paid them £150 a couple of months ago and left them to go with Sky.

Sky is direct debit and it comes out my partners bank account there is always money in there.

Then this guy claimed that sky and bt were merging and keep saying Mrs Bass which I am not, I have never gone by this and will not be going by this until the summer months.

He then said he would disconnect my line or he could reinstate it for £44, I said without any letters from BT or Sky I would not be doing anything regarding this issue.

He then hung-up..

It was very weird and creepy, I know that they have to contact me first my writing, and I know that my Sky and past BT bills were all paid (I go through the bank statements each month and I paid the BT bill myself..)

Then I researched this and found these bits of info:

Warning over phone call scam

4:50pm Tuesday 24th March 2009

CONMEN have been targeting residents in Chard, Ilminster and Crewkerne with a phone scam that claims they need to pay a bill to BT.

One crook called a woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, on Saturday evening and claimed he was calling from BT about an unpaid bill.

When the woman told them she was not with BT, he said it dated from before the service provider was changed.

The conman was challenged again by the woman and demonstrated his control by disconnecting her phone line for a few minutes.

When he called back asking for a payment, the woman said she had not received any letters, but the thief claimed they had been sent and the bill needed to be paid immediately or the phone line would be disconnected.

The woman supplied her debit card details, but checked with her building society on Monday and discovered the payment had gone to an online company.

Other incidents have been reported that work in the same way, including one man who gave his debit card details and was told they had not worked. He then supplied his credit card details and had £700 taken from his account.

Victims have described the conmen as ‘glib’ and ‘having an answer for any of your suspicions’.

A spokesman for BT said: “We advise customers never to give out any banking details over the phone unless they are absolutely certain who they are dealing with.

“If there’s any doubt at all ask for a number to call back on, or the employee’s ID number and they will always be able to give you an 0800 number and you can check their ID by calling 150.”

BT telephone scam

Merseyside Police and Trading Standards are warning residents to be extra vigilant after a 77 year old resident in the Huyton area received a phone call on the 4th October 2008, from an Eastern European sounding male who claimed to be from British Telecom.  The caller was very pushy and aggressive with the resident and claimed she owed money to B.T. he was not specific to the amount of alleged arrears.  The resident was informed repeatedly that he was just doing his job and that the resident would be cut off on the 23 December 2008.

The resident asked to speak to a manager, a second male came on to the phone giving his name as David Carter and then repeated the same story, they then asked for the residents bank details at which point the resident became suspicious and hung up.

Never provide bank details

This scam was highlighted in a article in the Sunday Financial Mail on the 7th September 2008, the article states that the callers will say they will disconnect your phone if you do not pay alleged arrears, and then requesting bank details, however they are able to disconnect for a few minutes as you are unable to ring out, normal service on the phone is then resumed, no details are provided how the scammer are able to block the line.

Please be aware that you should never provide your bank details or any personal details when requested by phone.

Trading standards would advise that residents consider that they register with the Telephone Preference Service, (for further details contact Trading Standards at Knowsley Council), however be aware that this may not stop all unwanted calls. B.T. are now investigating this scam.

So don't fall for it people and let everyone know!!!!

[EDIT] Reported my scammer to my local police :) and warn people via e-mail, facebook, DFW website and Lavish :) I feel better