A new telephone 'scam' has arrived.
My friend received a call from a 'representative' of BT, informing her that he was disconnecting her 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 she told him she was with Virgin Media; allegedly VM have to pay BT a percentage for line rental!
She asked the guy's name - the very 'English' John Peacock with a very 'African' accent - & phone number - 0800 0800 152.
Obviously the fella realized she wasn't believing his story, so offered to demonstrate that he was from BT. She asked how & he told her to hang up & try phoning someone - he would disconnect her phone to prevent this. AND HE DID!! Her phone was dead - no engaged tone, nothing - until he phoned her again.
Very pleased with himself, he asked if that was enough proof that he was with BT. She asked how the payment was to be made & he said credit card, there & then.
She said that she didn't know how he'd done it, but she had absolutely no intention of paying him, she didn't believe his name or that he worked for BT.
He hung up.
She dialled 1471 & phoned his fictitious 0800 number... not recognised.
She phoned the police to let them know. She 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.
This is good but not that clever. He gave her the wrong number - it should have been 0800 800152 which goes through to BT Business.
The cutting off of the line is very simple. He stays on the line with the mute button on and you can't dial out - but he can hear you trying. (This is because the person who initiates a call is the one to terminate it). When you stop trying he cuts off and immediately calls back. You could almost be convinced! The sad thing is that it is so simple that it will certainly fool the elderly and vulnerable.
Obviously, if this scam is real, once they have your credit/debit card details, there is nothing to stop them cleaning out your account.
This scam can be confirmed by visiting the sites below
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8263637.stmhttp://www.beta.bt.com/bta/forums/ann.jspa?annID 3
http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/4147121.Police_warn_of_fake__BT__phone_scam/ 
