Fraudsters are tricking residents into believing their phone lines are disconnected to get their bank details.
Crooks claiming to be from various phone companies are phoning people to say there is an outstanding bill and pretending to disconnect the line by putting the phone on mute, in order to get the line owner’s bank details.
Sutton Council is now warning householders to be careful when giving financial or other personal information over the phone after a recent spate of scams.
They are alerting residents that phone companies never carry out disconnections this way.
Councillor Colin Hall, executive member for environment on Sutton Council said: “The elaborateness of these scams shows just how far fraudsters will go to get hold of bank account details. If you have any doubt as to who you are speaking to, call the company back on a different number and check. It’s just not worth the risk.”
A spokesman for BT said: “While BT does have debt handling procedures which may involve calling customers, BT never carries out disconnections during the call by way of proof.
“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 is any doubt at all, a BT employee will be able to give the customer their employee ID number and an 0800 number to call, where the customer can check that they are who they say they are.
The customer can also check their identity by calling 0800 800 150.”
Anyone who you may have fallen victim to this scam should call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.
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