The regulator has been inundated with queries about two e-mails that are being circulated widely.
One warns of a scam involving a recorded message, which informs recipients that they have won an all-expenses paid holiday, but must press 9 to hear more. According to the e-mail, pressing 9 then connects the caller to a £20 per minute premium rate line that charges for five minutes connection, even if disconnected straight away. The e-mail also warns that if the call is not disconnected, the caller is charged £260 for the entire message.
The second hoax e-mail warns of a missed call from a number beginning 0709. If recipients call that number, they are connected to a £50 per minute premium rate line, says the e-mail.
But the e-mails are hoaxes, insists ICSTIS. The highest premium rate tariff is £1.50 per minute, so it is impossible for any premium rate service provider to charge £20 or £50 per minute.
The regulator explains that despite the dozens of enquiries it has received about these 'scams,' most people appear to have heard about them second or third-hand – and not one person who claims that it has actually happened to them has been able to produce a phone bill to support their story.
The e-mails should be deleted, not forwarded to others, says ICSTIS, which issued a similar plea in December.
