Fraudsters posing as customers ask to be called back on 070 number
Insurance brokers are being targeted by phone line scammers who ask to be called back on premium rate phone numbers.
PhonepayPlus, which regulates premium rate phone numbers and services in the UK, has warned that fraudsters are calling brokers to get a quote and then asked to be called back on an 070 number.
The 070 numbers look like mobile numbers, but cost up to 65p to call from a landline and as much as £1.50 per minute from a mobile phone.
The scammers pretend to ask for high value motor and home insurance policies and keep the broker on the phone for over two hours by asking them lots of unusual questions and for the policy terms to be read to them.
PhonepayPlus’s head of policy Patrick Guthrie said: “We take this very seriously and we investigate and fine providers where they have breached our Code of Practice. People who have an issue with or want more information on a premium rate service can contact us via www.phonepayplus.org.uk or 0800 500 212.”
The people on the other end of 070 numbers are not meant to financially benefit from them, but fraudsters get hold of them as the numbers are sold on by the phone network companies they are allocated to.
Ofcom has approved their use by small businesses and sole traders who want to use a single number, hospital patients, and individuals placing a classified advert who do not want to publish their personal number.
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