Scammers came within a whisker of taking £100,000

COMPUTER users are being warned to stay safe online after scammers came close to fleecing a dale farm business out of almost £100,000.

In an incident reported to Barnard Castle police last week, the business was contacted by fraudsters claiming to be from BT and stating they were aware of a problem with its computer.

PCSO Darren Miles said the business operators were taken in by the scam after being told they could check a website and phone number which the callers claimed proved their veracity.

PCSO Miles told the January Teesdale Police and Communities Together (Pact) meeting that having gleaned information from the victims, the crooks managed to convince them to allow remote access to the computer.

“They went into online banking. They said they could see an account and asked the victim to confirm the amount,” PCSO Miles said.

He said this set alarm bells ringing and the victim declined.

“She was going to cut them off but was then told if she cut them off, they would take all of it – close to £100,000,” said PCSO Miles.

“The victim put the phone down, rang the police and we are investigating it now. She rang her bank and the funds were still there.

“The bank said they would put safeguards in place. It was a very near miss. If anyone asks for remote access to the computer, alarm bells should ring.”

A spokeswoman for BT said the company was aware of a variety of scams, with fraudsters altering their approach depending on the information given to them.

She added: “BT takes the security of its customers’ accounts very seriously.

“We proactively warn our customers to be on their guard against scams. Fraudsters use various methods to ‘glean’ personal or financial details with the ultimate aim of stealing from you.

“This can include trying to use your BT bill and account number.”

She added: “Our advice is that customers should never share their BT account number with anyone and always shred bills.

“Be wary of calls or emails you’re not expecting. Even if someone quotes your BT account number, you shouldn’t trust them with your personal information.

“We’ll never ask customers for personal information unexpectedly and we’ll never call from an ‘unknown’ number.

“If we’re getting in touch about your bill, it will usually be from either 0800 3289393 or 0800 0285085.”

BT also operates a website – www.bt.com/scams – which has information about the latest scams and how customers can protect themselves.

“We would encourage anyone who’s been scammed or were a victim of an attempted scam to report this to Action Fraud – the UK’s national fraud and internet crime reporting centre.

“This helps law enforcement agencies build up a wider picture that may help protect others.

“Customers can link directly to the Action Fraud portal from BT’s scams website or by calling Action Fraud on 0300 1232040.”