Police have issued a further warning to the public to be aware of telephone scammers, after it emerged a Newry resident has been duped out of £28,000 by a caller pertaining to work for BT.
The cruel deception took place on Wednesday last when a man claiming to be from British Telecom called the injured party under the guise of issuing a refund and gained remote access to the individual’s computer and bank details. According to police, the unscrupulous caller requested remote access to their computer desktop and gained access to their online banking account, withdrawing over £28,000.
The latest incident follows two other similar phone scams which left two local residents out of pocket to the tune of £10,000 each.
Urging the public to be vigilant about cold callers, Detective Sergeant James Johnston said,
“These examples show us how easily scammers can extract large sums of money from unsuspecting members of the public. It is therefore extremely important to take time to consider who it is we are speaking to when we receive an unsolicited call and always be wary of any individual that cold calls you.
“Be especially suspicious of anyone who asks for money, banking or credit card information or who asks to gain access remotely to your computer. It is highly unusual for any legitimate company or organisation to demand money over the phone or ask to gain access to your computer.
“If you are at all suspicious about a call that you receive, hang up and phone the organisation that the person is purporting to represent to check their authenticity. Ideally make the call from another telephone so you can be sure the original caller has not remained on the line.”
Anyone in receipt of such calls or who is concerned about the intent of unsolicited calls, emails or letters is advised to report it to Action Fraud via their website www.actionfraud.police.uk or by phoning 0300 123 2040, or to call police on the non-emergency number 101. Further advice and information can also be obtained by visiting www.nidirect. gov.uk/scamwiseni.
BT have also advised anyone concerned about the validity of calls to contact 0800 321999 to validate the identity of the caller. Consumers should also seek advice at the BT web page
http://btplc.com/Inclusion/ProductsAndServices/Scams/index.htm , which provides further information to help you keep your valuable information safe and stop fraudsters getting access to it.