General Chat

This is a hoax and it could not happen. It would in any case be a criminal offence. Believe it or not the police were sending this out as a genuine warning a couple of years ago - red faces all round when they found out. Remember though that by sending these hoaxes out we keep perpetuting them so please check them out before posting.

Excuse me but...... someone came to the door of someone that I know, a lady of late 70's and tried something along these lines. Although the phone wasn't used, £150 was handed over for her long taxi ride home. So be aware. Jacky :-)

l had one simular recently by email via my daughter and was told its a hoax - but thanks Derekt:o))) jude sarf wales

Yes, it is definitely a hoax - it was mentioned on this board a few weeks back. Like a previous message stated, there are no £50 per minute lines. But really kind of you to warn us Derek - better to be warned than for someone to get sucked in. Mandy :)

Yes this is definatly a hoax no truth in it at all . I was told this by trading standards . Val

Thanks for that Derek. Will pass it on to as many as possible. Jenny.

Below are details of a scam currently going the rounds. The police have requested that as many people are alerted as possible. Unfortunately it is a genuine scam. Police Report. The reason this is working so well is it plays on your good will! Picture the scene:- You are sitting at home and there is a knock at the door. On answering it you are confronted by a respectable looking woman in a suit, who is slightly distressed. She explains that her car has broken down further down the road and she needs to contact her husband to come to her aid. Is it at all possible to use your phone to call him? You allow her to use the phone, but being the suspicious type you stand with her as she makes the call. She dials the number, and asks to be put through to Mr Smith / Brown / Stevens (Whatever). She holds the line for about thirty seconds. She continues, "In that case can you ask him to leave the meeting for a minute I need to speak to him quite urgently." She apologies again and explains they are getting him out of a meeting. A couple of minutes goes by and she starts to speak to her husband. She explains the situation to him, tells him what has happened to the car, is annoyed because she now can't get to her meeting, and asks what she should do now. She listens for a few seconds and then says, "Well as soon as the meeting finishes can you come to Cardiff Road / Leicester Road / Surrey Street (Whatever), where the car has broken down. Another few seconds go by, "OK, I'll see you in about twenty minutes then." She put the phone down, and thanks you ever so much for your kind assistance, even offering you a pound for your trouble, but of course you decline, it's no trouble. She leaves and everything is fine. Or is it? The day or week before knocking on your door she set up her own premium rate line with a telephone company at the cost of about £150, and she has dictated that calls to that number should be charged at £50 per minute. She has dialled that number. The conversation she has had with her "husband" is entirely fictitious, there is a pre-recorded voice message on the other end to give you the impression she is talking to someone. She has been on the phone for about five minutes, that call just cost you £250, the majority of which goes into her pocket, and the first you know about it is when you get your bill a month later. To rub a bit of salt into the wound,she hasn't even committed a crimina offence. You've given her permission to use your phone. 5 occasions in Luton where this has been reported in the last couple of weeks. Would anyone reading this please pass it on to friends and colleagues etc? Otherwise it could cost someone a lot of money. PC Paul Toseland Corby Business Anti-Crime Network Administrator

Found this in my email. See below....