Scams

[thesilentone]

With now at least 50% of all incoming calls being some form of scam is it time for BT to take action.

By providing the 'vehicle' for scammers to get into our homes via the landline and email, scammers are exploiting this obviously with some degree of success.

The numerous calls we are now get telling us our amazon account has been suspended, my NI number has been compromised, BT about our phone account, how our computer has a virus, etc, etc, etc,

We are now also receiving messages from this community, "

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Quicksilvers

‎18-01-2021

Best way to make money online! Use your chance to the world of digital opportunities! Join us!

Dear Sir/Madam! We are the  - a group of people who jumped on the insane bitcoin profits and quietly got rich! We popularize digital technologies around the world and help people to make money on it! Hurry up to join the best  Financial Online Community! Open a FREE account at make money online with us!

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Surely the time has now come for BT to stop allowing it's infrastructure for unscrupulous scammers to con people.

Action needed BT, you are an accessory to the crime !!

[CJT80]

@thesilentone 

Are you receiving messages from a member or members with content which is a Scam?

[thesilentone]

Yes, however you're filter will not allow the word in the this forum, but does allow it in my messages.

[Keith_Beddoe]

@thesilentone

This is only a customer forum, however I suspect that the message was send to you on the 18th, and you have only just read it.

This type of private message should no longer be received.

As for phone calls, the only effective was to stop those is with a call blocking phone, like the BT4600.

[JohnC2]

Hi @thesilentone, sorry you received the above spam message on the 18th. I can assure you that appropriate action has been taken and we've also taken further steps to prevent spam messages in the future.

Thanks

John

[thesilentone]

That would mean doing this every day, why should I ??

BT should vet every user and customer, and not pass the buck to it's customers to clean up the system.

Get you're own house in order !!

[bratman91]

There is a limited capability for BT or, indeed, any phone company or ISP to stop scam calls.

1.  Many, perhaps most, originate from outside the UK and are beyond the reach of UK regulatory or enforcement agencies.

2.   Some scams are very convincing and it is not until delving into them that it can be identified as a scam. Some scammers barely have a pulse and an IQ in double figures but others can be extremely skilled and use sophisticated methods.

3.  The only filter that well stop all scams is a filter than will stop everything.  A filter might stop some scammer but it might also stop a legitimate call (how would it know that your Great Auntie Joan in Africa wants to contact you after losing touch for ten years, rather than a scammer?)

If you want to stop or at least greatly reduce scam phone calls, invest in a phone such as the BT8600 or something very similar. They are not expensive and work very effectively to deter scammers and prevent their calls from bothering you.

If you want to stop scam emails - you can’t stop them all but you can be careful (there are numerous guides on the internet that tell you how).

[thesilentone]

Then do what email does, have a 'white list ' for Aunty Mable from Africa, I'm certain these call numbers v the scam callers will be very small.

It's time for BT to cut the excuses and become much more proactive in dealing with this very serious problem.

Fraud via the BT network must be the sleeping giant for future compensation claims, as you appear to be burying your heads in the sand. This policy will eventually lead to the break up of BT as a Company.

[gg30340]

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@thesilentone wrote:

With now at least 50% of all incoming calls being some form of scam is it time for BT to take action.

By providing the 'vehicle' for scammers to get into our homes via the landline and email, scammers are exploiting this obviously with some degree of success.

The numerous calls we are now get telling us our amazon account has been suspended, my NI number has been compromised, BT about our phone account, how our computer has a virus, etc, etc, etc,

We are now also receiving messages from this community, "

Action needed BT, you are an accessory to the crime !!

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Do you blame car manufactures for providing the "vehicle" for drunk drivers or knife manufacturers for all the murders involving a knife. 

I would be interested to hear how you propose "BT should vet every user and customer".  Does that include every person regardless of where they are in the world who happens to make a telephone call to a BT customer residing in the UK or every person who happens to send an email to a person who uses BT Broadband or BT email address who resides in the UK

The only people that are to blame for the scams are the scammers. 

If 50% of the calls you receive are from scammers perhaps it is time that you took some action to prevent those calls. There is plenty information available that can assist you to become better informed about scams and how not to be scammed.

[bratman91]

That is exactly what BT8600 and probably other models allow you to do. Phone calls from anyone in your address book (the “white” list) pass through unimpeded or to answerphone (if you have decided this); phone calls from other callers receive a message that they must announce their name and reason for calling. You can hear this and decide either to let the call through once, let it through every time, add it to your address book or bar it. It works a treat! As far as I can tell, scam callers do not bother even announcing their name or reason for calling and just hang up so that they can move on to less protected numbers.

You are in total control over the “white” list and can add to it, modify the details of numbers or delete them. It really doesn’t take much time at all. How you expect BT to do this for millions of UK subscribers and billions of potential callers from around the world, I have no idea.