Received an email today entitled "Music Teacher".



I called the number (somewhat naively) and just got a message from Orange saying "This number is permanently barred."

A little Googling tells me that this is a premium rate call scam that will charge me god knows how much a minute to listen to an answering machine.

Nice.

I always email back prospective pupils with my phone number. If they're not prepared to phone me, then I don't want their custom!

Course, my email sounds much friendlier than that! - I give them lots of info in the reply email but suggest we discuss things further on the phone before giving them my number (I give my landline number to email enquiries too in case they don't want to ring a mobile)

Thanks for the warning moondad. I would initially send information by e-mail too - but it's as well to be aware!

I never send any info by email except my landline number, and invite them to ring me. Some do, some don't, but you can get a feel if they are serious by your discussion. If I don't think I'm the right teacher for them I don't even discuss rates.

Tricking people into calling a premium rate number is an OLD scam, but it is most usually done by calling you from the number and dropping the line before you can answer. THe scammer reilies on people calling back to see what the "missed call" was.

BT could end this scam easily if they chose to.

I agree, Tom, people who want to license premium rate numbers should have to endure rigorous scrutiny to ensure that their business is genuine. Mind you, I'd sooner see an end to premium rates altogether, as it's difficult to view them as anything but a scam, no matter what their purpose.

The problem with this number, is it looks like a feasible mobile number. You're correct in saying it's an old scam - I remember the introduction of '0898' numbers, and being given a number of a 'someone who's interested in music lessons' by a mischevious colleague back then, which submitted me to a cleverly timed recording of some old bloke who was too deaf to hear what I was saying. 'Hilarious' - especially when you see the phone bill!

When you consider the consequent stream of new prefixes for premium rate calls, the whole thing begins to look more and more like a deliberate attempt to ensure people don't learn to recognise them too easily.

Scams using 070 numbers have been around since the numbers were introduced in the 1990's. THey were criticised by Oftel in 2001 and several times since, but almost 10 years on the problems remain.

The problem is that you can be charged a higher rate for 070 numbers, some of which is passed on to the owner of the number.

It is also rumoured that these numbers re-direct to premium rate numbers, for which you are then charged, but that is probably a myth, as it is illegal for the phone company to chartge you anything other than the rate of the first nu ber dialled.

The original idea of the numbers was to give people a personal number that is not a mobile number, but is not tied to any geographical location. They can then redirect that number to whichever land-line or mobile they happen to be using.

But for scammers they are very attractive, as people can easily mistake them for mobile numbers, or think they are legitimate personal numbers, and have no way of knowing in advance if they will be charged a premium for calling them. Lottery and prize draw scammers, amongst others, use them, employing missed calls, eMails, and SMS messages to defraud the gullible.

The sneakiest ones play a simulated ring tone, so that you sit there for minutes waiting for an answer, but all the time being charged from when the real ring tone ended, and the fake one began.

That the scam still exists more than 10 years on is a disgrace, and it is little wonder that the telecomms companies are suspected of being in league with the scammers, in order to make their own cut of the earnings from this racket.

It also exposes Oftel as being a pretty toothless organization.

How can that be legal?

Agreed.

Scams generally aren't ;-)

A further problem is that 07-prefixed numbers can silently redirect anywhere in the world -- you won't pay for the international leg of the call, but it does make things difficult from a prosecution point of view. Watch also for London numbers that are actually Skype dial-in numbers: again, the account holder could be anywhere, and while the call charges will be normal, the number could be used as the beginning of some other type of scam.

This is only going to get worse as more services converge on the telephone number space. Think of it like the Internet, where (for example) a .uk domain tells you absolutely nothing about the whereabouts of its operator.

I am aware of these type of scams.

I e-mail back potential pupils if they e-mail me, even if they provide a genuine looking number in their message.

If they call me then great, I have a chat with them on the phone. if I miss a call and the person does not leave a voicemail then I don't bother ringing them back.