09 numbers on my home phone bill - NOT me, what's going on?

[kiwi308]

My September bill showed 5 itemised calls made to an 09 number - very large call charges! None made from my home phone though as I am the only one here.

This is what I had now learnt from the web, this occurs, be aware:- 

It's quite common for scammers to "answer" calls to premium-rate numbers with the sound of a ringtone, so while a victim thinks they're waiting for their outbound call to be answered, they are infact connected to the audio of a ringtone while call charges are incurred.

I note from your screenshots that there's a 2minute call followed immediately by a 4-minute call. Could this be an indication of the unfortunate victim of this scam redialling in the (mistaken but understandable) perception there was something awry with the initial call connection?

[David_Bn]

Thanks for your post on our Community Forums and a very warm welcome to you @kiwi308!

Sorry to hear of the unexpected charges on the phone bill

Do you possibly know which numbers you were calling when the "audio of a ringtone" was playing?

Have you been able to contact the person you were calling?

Kindest regards,

David_Bn

[kiwi308]

Unfortunately I just spotted this in my September account and have no idea what numbers I called on the day. However they would have no doubt been to people I know however I will now be so much more awake on this sort of thing happening again.

[David_Bn]

Thanks for the response @kiwi308,

It would be best to contact the specific caller - I suspect if this was an issue with your line, this would be happening with all calls.

Although, picking up on what you said originally;

"So while a victim thinks they're waiting for their outbound call to be answered, they are infact connected to the audio of a ringtone while call charges are incurred. I note from your screenshots that there's a 2 minute call followed immediately by a 4-minute call."

So, were you charged for the 4 minutes or 2 minutes at 09 rates?

Does the bill show the number you called that was the legitimate call? 

The only other possibility that springs to mind, would perhaps be a crossed line with one of your neighbours, have you possibly discussed the bills and calls that have generated the charge with your neighbours?

Kindest regards,

David_Bn

[goslow · Accepted solution]

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@kiwi308 wrote:

My September bill showed 5 itemised calls made to an 09 number - very large call charges! None made from my home phone though as I am the only one here. <snip>

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'Phantom' call charges are mentioned on the forums about 3 or 4 times per month on average. They sometimes involve high charges to premium rate 09 numbers.

Your post might have been split from an earlier topic into one of your own so is a bit hard to follow but the description of scammers using ringtones to generate call charges is one of many different stories on the internet about the subject. A good many of these have no basis in fact. I am sure there are ways in which scammers can defraud people via premium rate numbers, such as the 'Wangiri' phone scam amongst others but some of the more elaborate descriptions are a bit implausible.

The common explanation which is put forward on here for unexplained charges is a 'crossed line' (if your phone connection comes from a traditional phone wall socket).

In any event, if you are certain you did not make the calls which caused the charges, and have been charged a high bill, then you should not have to pay. You either have a fault on your line, there has been some kind of administrative/billing error or fraudulent activity of some kind.

If you have the full 09 number you can look it up here

https://psauthority.org.uk/for-consumers/service-checker

and identify the company/ies which own the number/s. You can then see if you recognise the business/activity listed for the number/company.

Other things you can check are the date/time/duration of the call. Common patterns for a phantom call are ones which take place in the middle of the night and may be of extremely short or extremely long duration (not calls that a real person would normally make).

Does VM supply your landline service via a traditional telephone master socket on the wall or via the newer method of a connection from the back of the VM hub? A connection from a wall socket may mean the possibility of a 'crossed line' explanation which VM should be able to investigate for you.

[kiwi308]

Brilliant

Thank you for your reply. I checked one of the 3 different numbers and it came up Mystery Word Competition. Very interesting as I did this on-line not on the phone!  So never again. You have solved it by providing me with the URL psauthority.org.uk

Happy New Year and Thank you.

[Ashleigh_C]

Thank you for letting us know @kiwi308 and I'm glad that this has been explained. 

Please don't hesitate to reach out again via the forums should you need any assistance.

Thanks again.

[goslow]

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@kiwi308 wrote:

<snip> Thank you for your reply. I checked one of the 3 different numbers and it came up Mystery Word Competition. Very interesting as I did this on-line not on the phone!  So never again. You have solved it by providing me with the URL psauthority.org.uk <snip>

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Not something I have come across before or used myself but, from the link below, you can also access

https://psauthority.org.uk/For-Consumers/Why-Have-I-Been-Charged

which mentions entries to 'Quizzes and competitions' and the possibility that these can be charged to your phone bill. If you entered your phone number as part of the online competition process, then this would possibly start to make sense.

If you think you were misled when entering the online competition, and the phone charges were not made clear, you can complain direct to the company involved first of all and then to PSA if you are not satisfied with their response. You should also keep an eye on your future phone bills and make sure these were just one-off payments (per competition entry) rather than an ongoing subscription on some kind.