Interesting new scam

[#1]

I had a phone call this morning. A recorded Chinese sounding voice (female) said it was BT Openreach. Something or other had been compromised and that my broadband would be switched off in the next 48 hours and that they had to give me a new IP address. Press 1 for......... At this point I put the phone down. The number calling (via 1471) was shewn as 003448002400. That number might be right, might be spoofed. However, It's worrying - some people might fall for it.

[#2]

Very commonplace these days; genuine Openreach Engineers may have problems verifying who
they are on phone.
I let these scammers carry on to waste their time and stop them scamming others; I then get
my very loud Acme Thunderer whistle and give them a good blast down the line.

[#3]

Hi @JamesE

Thanks for getting in touch.

The number you've highlighted seems to be connected to known spam/scam calls - a quick Google search brought up some relevant info here

You've done the right thing terminating the call and bringing it to the community's attention. As always, if anyone is unsure/uncomfortable with a call they have received, we'd recommend politely terminating the call and checking the number via 1471 and then Google wherever possible.

Plusnet Call Protect and the Telephone Preference Service are both also helpful in minimizing calls of this nature.

Thanks for your feedback!

Best wishes,

Dave

[#4]

Thanks @JamesE for letting us know.

Sadly they're not uncommon now, if you get another it would be worth checking around the options to find out what they're really after (i.e. what ulterior motive) without giving away any personal information at all, or installing anything on a computer.

I don't get them, but my parents do my mum says "My son deals with the IT round the house" and ends the call. She is right I am luckly enough (if you can call it that!) to have that role round there 

I said before on a different thread, the trouble with call blocking is CLID can be spoofed as you've said (so that's been cracked now). My parents have had the spoof BT ones, which I only managed to wind one of them up so far, shame I would have liked to have done it more after asking some very basic technical questions they couldn't answer so they hung the call up on me. Nice 

With any of these calls now, I would say who are you calling from? As we're PlusNet customers, if they don't say "PlusNet", I would say "That isn't my ISP you must have the wrong number. Goodbye" (in an Anne Robinsion style - for anyone who's seen the Weakest Link you'll know what I mean)

If they got my ISP name right, I would say:

"What is the nature of this problem?"

"I will contact PlusNet myself - do you have a reference number for this problem?"

Then I'd only trust a call I had made, not I had received. Phone CS and verify with them if you're unsure and of course any fake reference number they give you will be meaningless to PlusNet.

Two things for me:

1. Don't fall for any scaremongering, such as "Your internet will be cut off tomorrow if you don't act" etc. which is designed to make you rush and not think.
2. Don't take any calls which called you and ask for personal information. e.g. spoofed CLID and someone goes "We're from BT/PlusNet", "There is a problem with your internet", or "There is a problem with your account", we need to go through security. Then they ask for personal details when of course it isn't them.

The problem is only going to get more sophisticated and worse I am afraid.

Anyone seen the Barclays Bank TV ad which is on quite a lot now? They wouldn't pay for the production and advertising costs for no reason. So I can only assume they are being hit by them and warning people of it.

Sadly, it may only be a matter of time before PlusNet are targeted.

Just an idea for staff/mods/su's - it may be worth putting up a sticky post somewhere about how PlusNet operate (without giving too much away of course) and what to do/what not to do and how do you ensure it is them. Like any company I am sure PlusNet make legitimate marketing calls with offers to retain business, but it is how we know for example we can verify they are real. 

[#5]

I've reported one number that is fraud to Plusnet but due to it being getting towards 30 minutes getting through to speak to technical this is not on from Plusnet who should employ more technicians because who's got that amount of time to waste these days?   Lately the nuisance is getting worse with different numbers some of which are not registered numbers to the phone but some are. Ironically some callers are from the Uk some international. Some genuine calls seem to be normal but are cut into by the scammers at the time of pick up? 

They seem crafty  [-Censored-]s that's a fact.   If only the shotgun was loaded which it cannot be these days and give them a nasty surprise  with the barrel 6" from the speaker so as to deafen the [-Censored-].

[#6]

Hi @Micklemus78,

I'm sorry to hear that you've been receiving nuisance calls and I'm sorry for the wait times when you've tried to call us about this.

If you've not done so already, I'd strongly recommend that you add Plusnet Call Protect to your line. This is a free call feature that automatically blocks calls from known nuisance callers and you can also choose to block specific numbers or types of number. If you'd like more information on this, please see the page here.

[#7]

Just to resurrect a slightly old thread I had one of this type of call this morning.

The number was probably spoofed but was from 01283 872836 at 11:29. A quick Google did not report any UK hits but I did get some from other countries.

 The basis of the call was a short pause then a computer generated message from BT to report a ‘foreign country’ had compromised my BT landline and ‘some hisses and crackles, unable to hear what was said’  then please press 1 to speak to and engineer.

At which point I terminated the call.

Just a heads up to anyone getting something like this over the weekend.

[#8]

Over the past couple of days I have had two calls from "BT Technical Department" telling me that there has been illegal access to my internet by others and that they need to access my machine. I quizzed the first caller about why BT was ringing me as they were not my ISP, she obviously didn't know what an ISP was, and insisted that BT was my supplier and that she was based at their office in Newgate Street in London ( BT registered office). However she couldn't tell me what the weather was like. At this point she hung up obviously getting the message that she was getting nowhere.

The second call went further and I played dumb and went along with what she said. She took me through finding a command line, which I made a hash of a few times like a real dummy. Eventually I told her I had this funny box in the bottom left and she told me to go to www.anydesk.com so she could take control of the machine. At that point I reverted to myself and asked why she wanted to take control of my machine and started to speak technically. She then shouted at me that my internet would be disconnected within the next ten minutes and I would be fined £1000, presumably for wasting her time. Funny how two days later the internet still works.

Today I have had an automated voice call from 01283668856 (an unrecognised number if you call back) which I believe is a spoofed number and I have now blocked - not that that will do much good as they will use a different number next time. This call was an Asian voice with  US style accented English and the message said I was about to have my internet cut off because of illegal usage and I should press 1 to speak to someone or 2 to have it cut off. Naturally I put the phone down.

It really is time something was done about spoofed numbers and I guess this is the new Windows Helpdesk Scam. Please everyone be aware.

[#9]

Call Blockers are wonderful things, get so few calls like this now. 

I would urge anyone thinking of blowing a whistle or making a loud noise down the phone not to. My elderly father-in-law (sadly now departed) was so fed up with nuisance calls he blew a ref's whistle down the phone. it got him a visit from the Rozzers. the git at whatever company that had been calling him 10 times a day reported him. The Police took no action and sympathized with him.

There are better ways to get your own back on these people.

String them along, waste their time keeping them talking, the call is costing them.

[#10]

That's what I do.

If I get a scam call, I will just wind them up with technical questions I know they won't be able to answer.

By all means I don't know everything, but enough to play ignorant and pretend I know nothing.

After all if they're going to waste my time, I will with theirs.