A different sort off Spam call that was very convincing

[johnld]

I had a spam call today alleging to be from BT

Initially it was very convincing and telling me that BT were carrying out work n my area for the next 4 days

I was told I would be getting a temporary connection and my normal line would be automatically reconnected when the work was completed

When I pushed him if I needed to do anything to connect to the temporary line he became evasive and kept saying that why he was calling to explain what I needed to do

He stared to say I needed to down load an app and he started to tell how to do this

My spam indicator went very red at this point

I told him that as BT had my contact information he could email me the instructions, his response was that you needed to be technical to understand the process

I asked how he knew I did not have a technical background

At that point the line disconnected

I have only posted this as he was very convincing and almost had me fooled

John

[licquorice]

Your first sentence should have rung alarm bells, BT don't carry out any work locally, Openreach do.

[johnld]

I know but as I said he was very convincing

[Kimberlin]

Convincing or otherwise, if someone calls claiming to be from BT or Openreach or indeed anyone else who claims to be someone working for any company, ask them for their full name and company employee number and which company office they work out of with the exact address. If they’re immediately evasive, just put the phone down, don’t even engage in a discussion with them. Any doubts, make contact with a company Head Office or their official Customer Services line to establish authenticity. This applies to any unsolicited call. Clearly if it involves a lesser known independent or one person band outfit, that might be problematic to establish authenticity. That’s when natural common sense prevails, just put the receiver down on them.

[arhamblake38]

Good catch, John. The caller using a genuine-looking reason for the call and then gradually steering you toward installing an app is a major red flag. The fact that he became evasive when you asked for written instructions was another strong warning sign.

I think you handled it exactly right by refusing to install anything and asking BT to contact you through an official channel instead. Scammers often try to create urgency or make the process sound too technical so the person follows their instructions without questioning them.

It’s worth reporting the call to BT and your phone provider, particularly because the caller sounded convincing. I’d also avoid calling any number they provide or installing anything they recommend. For a quick distraction after dealing with something like that, adoptmevalues.de can be a harmless change of pace.