Protect Yourselves from Phone BT Internet Scams

I’m sick of getting phone calls from Bt internet
by Joyce Halsan

I’ve been scammed on the phone daily by people who say they are from BT internet technical service or open reach or internet providers.  These phone calls are scams. They want to get you to allow them access to your computer and while there get access to your bank accounts.

They accessed your computer using Supremo, Anyplace Control and TeamViewer programmes which they convince you to download to your  own Computer.

They say many things to frighten you like your internet will be cut off in hours or days, someone is using your IP address illegally, you have been hacked, and so on...  They will ask you to push a number to be forwarded to their technical department. They sound very believable and can be very aggressive.  

Some things you can do:

Please hang up without pushing any buttons.  Block the call if you have that ability to do so.  This might work, but please note that they call from many different numbers as well as “unknown” numbers.  So it doesn’t stop the calls.

Do go to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and register your number to protect from unwanted phone calls. This is a free service and only protects you from European phone callers. Many of the scam calls come from outside Europe. https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/registered.php

Don’t give any personal information to anyone over the phone.  No one.

Don’t keep them on the phone or engage in any conversation with them.  

The best thing to do is not answer if it is from a number you don’t recognise.

If you got fooled by the scammers:

Don’t feel stupid if they have fooled you into sharing your personal information. They are very good at convincing you to give up information.

But do :

1.  immediately contact your bank to warn them and block your accounts
2.  report them for fraud. https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/scams-fraud/.
3.  Take your computer in and have it scanned and cleaned.
4.  Report to your phone service provider.

Hopefully our phone service providers can get a handle on how to protect us from these scammers. I personally will probably cancel my landline.