Re: Beware of this new mobile phone scam...

No Realist my sister's phone isn't smart, it's extremely dim like mine!

Re: Beware of this new mobile phone scam...

So what you seem to be saying, ruthio, is that your sister owns a bog standard mobile phone ? Is it a PAYG phone too?

If you say she has a bog standard mobile and it is PAYG, then it looks as if all mobile phones are vulnerable to this particularly nasty scam !

What confuses me is who gains financially from this scam ? because there is absolutely no point in performing a scam if there is only a nuisance value to it ! They all do it for the money they can steal, surely ?

Re: Beware of this new mobile phone scam...

The scammers are setting up their own 0845 numbers Gilly so anytime a call is registered against them they get paid for that call. Where the call comes from is irrelevant.

Anyone can have an 0845 or equivalent premium rate telephone number even you.

A couple of years ago it was reported in the news that a man, who was utterly fed up of his home phone being constantly phoned by marketing companies, changed his home phone number to an 0845 premium rate number. When the marketing calls came in he would happily sit there listening to their spiel, asking questions, asking them to repeat it all again leaving the hapless helpdesk operator thinking he was really onto a good lead. The chap earned £100s through having that number until the marketing companies realised what had happened and stop phoning him.

So the scammers are doing the same thing, setting up premium rate phone numbers and then getting other people's phones to ring that number (or alternatively hacking into the phone operator accounts and logging fictitious calls in there).

So ultimately someone has to pay for the call to the 0845 number. The likes f Vodafone, EE and O2 are not too happy about picking up the bill, but they are going to have to.
They obviously have a security hole which is being exploited and they need to plug it asap.

Re: Beware of this new mobile phone scam...

Is it not possible to block all such numbers or only specific ones?

Re: Beware of this new mobile phone scam...

BT could if they so chose, block ANY number at all. They could block known harassment calls to our landlines, they could block known marketing companies from ringing us. They don't though because it's all part of an organised "protection racket".

Instead of dutifully acting as a filter for British citizens, they instead create a service out of it and charge people for the ability to see the incoming caller ID. Without subscribing to that service, home owners can not use call blocking devices.

In short BT are saying "Pay us, or we'll let those nuisance calls come through"

As Britain's monopoly telecoms provider that behaviour is utterly appalling and immoral imo. Unfortunately the country is run by crooks so they will keep their monopoly for a long time yet and continue to exploit the position.

Can you imagine if groups of youths took to standing outside your house at night screaming and shouting and chanting and the local police then saying, "we'll move the nuisance yobs on but only if you pay us a monthly subscription"

There would be outrage. Yet BT get away with the same thing.

By the same token mobile phone providers could set things up so your phone could never dial any premium rate number. . . .

Re: Beware of this new mobile phone scam...

Gilly my sister has a bog standard mobile but not PAYG, she has a monthly contract with Vodaphone.
She found the charge on her monthly bill which she received in an email. When she checked the call log on her phone there was no call out to that number. She thought at first that someone must've got hold of her phone somehow and used it without her knowledge.
So she called the helpline and then had to take the phone into the shop and they had to sort it out.

Re: Beware of this new mobile phone scam...

If she had to take the phone to a shop it very much sounds like a phone hack then. Presumably the staff have been prepped about it and know how to remove it.

Re: Beware of this new mobile phone scam...

Look, the best thing I can do is to repeat what she said when I sent her that link by email this morning.
I said "I think this is what happened to you isn't it????"

This is her reply...

Yes! This is exactly what happened to me - I got a bill for £380 odd for a 12 hour call "they" said I'd made to Canada, in the end, if you remember, after a terrific hassle, I got the money refunded except for £50, and this was all Vodafone would accept. I ended up shouting over the phone at the head of their Financial Department, and still had to wait 7 days for my refund. It took days and days of phone calls to Vodafone, plus the trip to the shop.


But...she did answer the call for a second but put it straight down again.
This, I think, makes the difference and is how she was 'had'.

Re: Beware of this new mobile phone scam...

Apparently they're discussing this Vodaphone billing scam on This Morning today.

Re: Beware of this new mobile phone scam...

I had a text this morning to say that my icloud had been suspended and to ring a number to reinstate it. Seeing as I don't have an icloud or infact an iphone, I'm not too bothered.