BEWARE: Telephone scam

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BEWARE: Telephone scam

Postby crusty_bint » Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:39 pm

Apparently...

Beware of any calls from the Bank of Scotland playing a recording asking you to press any digit to return the call as when you do this you are put into a queue and charged premium rates for it! The cunts!

Source: BT Secuirity.
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Postby McShad » Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:55 pm

Is that possible and is that legal?
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Postby crusty_bint » Sat Oct 22, 2005 4:04 pm

Yes it's possible and no it's no legal... otherwise BT secuirity wouldn't have issued the warning.
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Re: BEWARE: Telephone scam

Postby stinkpad » Sat Oct 22, 2005 5:40 pm

crusty_bint wrote:Apparently...

Beware of any calls from the Bank of Scotland playing a recording asking you to press any digit to return the call as when you do this you are put into a queue and charged premium rates for it! The cunts!

Source: BT Secuirity.


This only works on a PBX - ie a work phone system where you press 9 for an outside line. Doesn't work on normal lines.

Got a link for this BT Security advisory?
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Postby dcvr » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:24 pm

It wouldn't even work for most PBXs, as you usually have to hit recall and then 9 (for example) in order to connect an existing call to an outside line, certainly not "press any key". Many larger organisations' PBXs also have safeguards against tying an incoming outside line call back out to another outside line - some block redialing once it's connected, others simply won't permit it at all.

These "press any key" alerts are usually hoaxes - as pernicious as viruses, and they replicate because people are encouraged to, and feel they're helping by passing the information on to others. In my last role, I spent considerably more time asking users to stop propagating hoaxes than I ever did dealing with genuine security alerts.

A final word of caution: It's obviously possible to generate an email which might work for a few companies. If your "control" button is recall on your phone system, it'd be silly to follow instructions which involved you pressing that button.
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Postby scotia47 » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:26 pm

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