Excessive Fees For Phone Lines
There are many forms that a premium phone line scams can come in, something that we see quite often in managed IT services. All of these have the potential to damage your business reputation, or drain your budget. Cybercriminals charge through the roof for phone lines they have either illegally gained access to or stole.
Types of Premium Phone Line Scams
Fixed Line Fraud
Fixed line fraud is one of the premium phone line scams where cybercriminals gain access to phone lines and resell the use of them for higher rates than you would usually expect. The cybercriminals find ways of accessing the switchboard and then allow calls through this switchboard. Without even knowing it, you could be paying for a phone line through a switchboard you shouldn’t be able to access. This type of fixed line fraud is also known as Dial Through Draft (DTF), or Direct Inward System Access Fraud (DISA).
Premium Rate Service Fraud
This is where cybercriminals charge a company for a normal phone line. However, the cybercriminals significantly increase the volume of calls going to this number meaning the company has to pay a higher fee.
Call Selling Fraud
This is where the cybercriminal takes out a phone line and resells the ability to call through this phone line. Except the cybercriminal never pays the original bill for taking out and using the phone line. Therefore the people using the phone line end up having their service cut, and are left without any help as it was a fraudulent line.
Fraudulent Applications
Cybercriminals take out phone lines under fake names. This can also be done through identity fraud, where the fraudster uses someone else’s details to take out the phone line and leaves bad debt in the victims name.
Take action
Things to watch out for
- Phone lines that seem very expensive and from an unfamiliar company
Report it!
- If you know the supplier the cybercriminal used for the phone line, phone them immediately for help and advice
- Phone us straight away on 0800 680 00 88 and report it to Action Fraud
Protect yourself and your business
- When choosing a phone line, make sure you choose a reputable company that you have heard of
- Ensure you take out an official contract with the company