Last updated 15:19, Wednesday, 18 June 2008

A VIGILANT BT customer has exposed a scam that could have duped countless people.

He offered her a discounted warranty for her broadband service.

Mrs McGerty explained: “He said ‘Your warranty is about to expire.

“It’s normally £29.99 but you can renew it today for £9.99.”

After discussing the payment options, Mrs McGerty’s suspicions were raised when the caller asked to check her surname.

After she gave it to him he then quoted her previous address, where she hasn’t lived for more than two years.

“He asked me to give him my postcode and he wanted my Switch details, at which point I said I’m ending the call,” she said.

When Mrs McGerty checked the caller’s identification she found the number had been withheld, at which point she alerted the Evening Mail.

BT’s suspicions were immediately aroused by the fact the number was withheld.

A spokeswoman for BT said: “Customers will always know if they have been called by BT – when they dial 1471 there will be an 0800 number given, saying that BT called.”

BT looked into the matter further and confirmed the call to Mrs McGerty was the work of fraudsters.

Amy Walker, media relations manager for BT, said: “One of our customer services team has spoken to Mrs McGerty and has confirmed that this does appear to be a scam.

“The caller’s number was withheld which BT do not do, and the caller did not know obvious details, such as Mrs McGerty’s name which, obviously, we would have.

“We have thanked Mrs McGerty for alerting us to this and sent her flowers.

“We will also pass the details to BT Security.”

BT’s advice to customers is to never give out personal details over the phone unless they are 100 per cent certain of the caller’s identity.

Pat Thomas, of Cumbria Trading Standards, added: “Our advice is very simple: when people phone you up out of the blue be cautious, because you don’t know who they are.

“The golden rule is never give out your personal details or bank details in response to a cold caller.”