Warning over phone scam after Dundee folk targeted

RESIDENTS in Dundee have been warned to watch out for a phone scam doing the rounds among customers of the phone company BT.

The scam sees customers rung up by con artists who claim to be “working closely” with the telecoms giant — then try to deprive them of their cash.

Scammers tell their victims that their call-blocking features, which aim to stop nuisance calls getting through, are about to expire.

They claim the only way to stop this is by paying a renewal fee when, in fact, such services are usually free.

Fraser Macpherson, the Lib Dem councillor for the West End, said he received reports of the scam from residents in the Logie area. One was conned out of £85.

Mr Macpherson said: “I’m very anxious that people are aware that these scams are about and it’s really important that people don’t impart anything like banking information.

“If in doubt, call the organisation to ask if the call was genuine. Phoning Police Scotland on 101 to report it is also quite a sensible thing to do.”

West End community council member Margaret Hubbard is one of those who received such a call.

The scammer was able to tell her details about her BT account, such as her name and postcode.

However, she immediately thought something didn’t add up.

She said: “My phone rang at 10am and a guy at the other end of the phone said, ‘is this your name and postcode?’, and asked if I was the bill payer.

“I asked what it was about and he said he was ringing because my call blocking services had run out.

“He said I had to renew it, but I said I’d never heard of that.

“Something just didn’t sound right, so I hung up and phoned BT myself, and they said it was a scam.

“I knew BT just don’t ring you up like that, and that once you’ve got the callblocking on it will never come off.”

A BT spokesman confirmed the firm was aware of the practice.

He added: “Fraudsters use various methods to glean your personal or financial details with the ultimate aim of stealing from you.

“This can include trying to use your BT bill and account number.

“Our advice is that customers should never share their BT account number with anyone and always shred bills.

“We’ll never ask customers for personal information unexpectedly.”