Is this a scam?

[Kenster69]

HI,

I have recently received some text messages along the lines of "Hello, here. We've checked our network and now need to send an engineer to visit you." This was from a contact called "-BT-". 

I cannot see the actual number associated with this text to verify it however.

Recently, i have been getting phone calls from 020 7 numbers. These are always from people with very heavy Indian accents, telling me that my router is sending error messages and that multiple ip addresses are connecting to it and I need to do something to get rid of them. 

I thought this sounded very fishy, but i have actually got a new router and it has not always been as reliable as the old one. I asked for some proof and he sent me a text message which came through with a PIN on it. It came through on the "-BT-" contact.

Again though, since i cant see the number behind this contact i cannot verify it.  Can you help me with knowing with if this is a scam or not? Im happy to provide further details if needed.

[-Richie- · Accepted solution]

Numbers are easy to spoof, they end up mixed with genuine messages from previous interactions with companies, if in any doubt ignore it, don't reply and don't click any links.

BT will never ring to say your hub is comprimised or multiple IP's etc, that's a known scam technique to get control of your PC.

Ring BT and speak with the 'Help' team on 0800 800 150, see if there are any issues for peace of mind.

[Keith_Beddoe]

If you have not reported a fault, then its a scam.

[gg30340]

Unless you initiated the call do not give the PIN number to anyone who calls you and says they have sent you a PIN number to verify they are genuine BT.

[Kenster69]

Just an update for you.

I spoke to the help line and they agreed that it sounded like a scam because of the way these people spoke to me was not normal  - e.g. they would never ring me out the blue like that, and if they did, the first thing they would do would be to confirm my identity. Furthermore, there was nothing updated on my account on the system -e.g. "Spoke to customer".

What worries me is that the helpline person said that the PIN number sent to me WAS genuine. Indeed, when i rang the helpline, I got a message saying something along the lines of "We recently sent you a text message, if you are ringing to check that it is genuine, you can be assured that it is". How could they do that?

It seems like the scammers might somehow have knowledge that I had been having problems with my router / line and hence identified me as a potential victim for scamming. Also, in retrospect, i think they actually named the BT person who tried to fix a fault on my line...or at least they gave me a name - whether or not it is correct i would not know!

Which makes me wonder..has there been a data breach? 

After speaking to the help line operative, i sent the numbers used to call me to the BT "phishing" account.

P.S. There was a genuine fault logged on the system for me which "lines up" with the initial set of texts which i mentioned.

[gg30340]

Have a look at this link and in particular the part about receiving an unexpected PIN.

BT's One time pin process - BT Community

[hadesthecat]

Scam.

I had the same, a text message from '-BT-' to my mobile number, followed by a call to my landline number.

Threw me for a moment as they had my mobile, my landline and my BT user ID which they i*n*c*l*u*d*e*d in the text message.   Someone somewhere has had a data breach, or rogue actors within BT contact centres using/selling info off (not unheard of), as scammers don't normally have your mobile and landline together (I never publish my home number on social media, dont have facebook, twitter etc etc). 

The BT User ID is pretty easy to guess as BT uses email address.  To combine all three bits of info suggests a breach.

Apparently 7 bad guys were using my internet and they were going to help me.   

Contacted the real BT to confirm my account was secure, and interestingly - they could also see the times of the bogus text messages that had been sent to me from BT (my mobile is not BT).  Which suggests someone internally was using their systems, and then placing calls from a non-BT number.  Something smells....

I also started receiving a few calls from the following numbers in the days up to this text, all non-BT.

01223 937 625

020 8029 2463

028 2025 5558

020 3939 3914

01223 934 081

01223 932 376

01223 935 659