By Michael Parsons, 29 June 2004 14:35
NEWS BT announced on Tuesday that it is taking action to try and stop customers running up huge bills caused by illicit dialling software commandeering PCs.
Diallers are software applications that are downloaded onto web users' computers to allow access to pay-per-view sites, such as porn sites, but some are being installed without users' knowledge in order to run up large bills by connecting to premium-rate telephone lines.
Diallers are a growing menace to UK narrowband web users. The percentage of internet-related complaints about premium-rate services has risen from 43 per cent in 2002 to 70 per cent in 2003, as a proportion of customers making complaints about high telephone bills, according to the industry's regulator, the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS).
According to a BT spokesperson, the company's customer service investigation team will compile a database of premium rate numbers used by rogue dialling software. The BT Wholesale team will then be able to instruct the exchange to block the number for retail customers.
The move will only protect people who use BT as their telephone provider.
Cable customers have a different network, and carrier pre-select operators will have to make their own decisions, said a BT spokesperson.
BT says it will give up any revenue generated from customers defrauded in this way, although the sums involved are small. The lion's share of the charges associated with such services go to the service operator rather than carriers such as BT. The company says that when a £100 bill is run up by a dialler, BTs share is £1.85. The unfortunate victims of dialling scams will still have to try and recover the bulk of their lost funds from the service provider.
The company hopes its new approach will shut down corrupt services quickly, given the delays associated with trying to prosecute the people running corrupt premium rate lines, who are frequently offshore, hard to locate, and very difficult to prosecute.
Gavin Patterson, BT's group managing director for Consumer and Ventures, said in a statement: We need to minimise the number of customers being affected as quickly as we can and we cant allow any more of our customers to fall victim while the sometimes lengthy investigative process gets underway.
The company is also offering a free premium rate call block on all customer lines to prevent others from falling victim.
Michael Parsons writes for ZDNet UK
Comments
There are 12 comments. Join the discussion
1. Tim Jackson
Did I just read that right?
If I got ripped off for £100 on my phone bill, BT would discount it by £1.85 but would still persue me for the other £98.15 in order to forward it to the scammer?
Why?
It's a strange world.
2. Mike Clapham
Given that ICSTIS has been telling Telcos about these numbers for some time - see http://www.icstis.org.uk/icstis2002/default.asp?Node=67, with no previous response from BT etc, do we have to thank Private Eye (issue 25/6, p9) for ICSTIS and BT at last taking action? And if BT are not going to refund the 98.15% of the cash stolen from us, have they REALLY already sent it off to these scammers?
3. anonymous
Are BT serious? as a shareholder of BT as well as customer, I am shocked by the way BT profits from criminal activities spread by viruses on the internet. My latest bill contains charges for premium call made because of illegal viruses spread by the net and diverting internet provider systems. BT proudly highlight on the bill that it gets a significant slice of the profit of these calls. When I try to bar them, I am told that BT thinks it right to charge £1-50 per month to stop you profiting from illegal activity!
4. Annoyed Scottish Lass
Just got BT quarterly bill for more than £680 - we usually pay £10 per month which adequately covers the line rental. We ONLY use this line for the internet, no phone is connected to it.
If BT are 'aware' that this is happening, just what exactly are they doing about it? It's too late when you get a quarterly bill and realise that 49 calls have been made on it to places such as Chile. The bill was dated 2nd Sept and I rang to query on 6th Sept as soon as I received it. In that time I found out that a further £130 had been incurred. This info was NOT volunteered by BT - I had to ask. I also had to ask how I could stop this happening and only then was I told about the premium rate call barring service. Perhaps a letter to all customers offering this service back in June might have been an idea?
Surely with its vast profits and advanced technology it can use a flagging system to spot bills increasing from £26 per quarter to nearly £700 and calls increasing from NIL to 49, all premium rate numbers?!
Doesn't BT have a duty of care to its customers? It's no good sending me a standard letter more or less telling me to sod off and pay up, it's not BT's fault.
5. Paul Richards
We got ripped off by BT with the same fraud, BT allowed this fraud to continue even though they knew about it. I maintain they should pay for their could not care less attitude, not the customer.
6. John Baker
Having received a bill for nearly £600, when our normal bill is usually less than £50, we contacted B.T. They 'generously' offered to let us pay by instalments, but still pay the full amount. Whilst I realise that B.T. did not install the dialler on my computer they, along with the government (they added their £80+ VAT to the bill), have colluded with criminals to rob us. If we don't pay the law will be used to recover the money 'owed'. So B.T. are protected from non paying customers but customers can be stolen from by internet crooks with the full cooperation of B.T. and H.M. customs and excise.
7. anonymous
My telephone bill frequently had 0900 calls logged but when I queried this wih BT I was told that I should not be accessing porn sites if I din't want high phone bills. I told BT that I was not accessing porn sites and how could I make a phone call lasting 36 hours and still make calls to other numbers on the same line while the 0900 number was still on line? BT had no answer. How does the money get transferred from BTs account to the rogue premium rate numbers? Quite simply, BT send it to them, so BT are liable as agents in the chain because We as customers pay BT via our bills.
8. anonymous
BT is aware of the scams, they are aware that these are scams and that customers do not wish to make these calls. They are permitting them and even profiting from them. Is this not being an accessory to theft, and in effect a fence for stolen money?
If an individual did this they would be quite rightly hauled up in court, why not BT. Why do the police not act against them? They are at the very least accomplices and by their inaction could be said to be encouraging crime and this is a crime against the user, calling it a scam makes it seem more of a joke than the crime it truly is.
9. Jo Martin
I have the same problem with my NTL line. I asked if they could block the numbers but they said they can't.
10. anonymous
Bt should be ashamed. But some people have no shame!
I have had this premium rate made on my bill I complained but there was no effort made by BT to do anything.
So eventally I said put a bar on this access no.
11. Gary Turner
More control should be placed upon those issuing the premium rate number.
The nature of th business of the people requesting the number should be investigated before the number is issued.
Block the premium rate scams at source rather than in a reactive manner as that will work for everyone everytime.
12. PeterKAnsbro
BT barred international calls and the rogue dialler bill doubled!
At my request BT placed an international call bar on my isdn, speech and fax lines. Three days later the amount racked up to a premium rate Austrian mobile had more than doubled. Now BT say that their international call bar is not 100% secure.