Small businesses concerned that their staff may
inadvertently connect to rogue internet diallers at a cost of £1.50
a minute while surfing the Net can rest a little easier after BT
acted to block 1,000 numbers allegedly associated with the
expensive nuisance.
When surfing, it is becoming increasingly common for a pop-up
prompt to come up on the screen asking the user whether they want
to connect to a service. Users can either be tempted to install the
dialler software, or in their haste to get rid of the pop-up, they
can press the wrong button and end up connecting at a premium.
A second warning e-mail to 1.8 million internet customers will
be sent in the next few weeks to reiterate how customers can avoid
becoming victims of a dialler. This will remind customers of
options such as free premium rate number barring, for instance.
So far, a total of 50,000 customers have taken advantage of BT’s
offer of free premium rate number barring since July, giving a
total of 1.5 million customers who now take such a service from
BT.
The telecoms provider said it has now dealt with 45,000 cases where
customers have fallen foul of a rogue dialler, with a further 9,500
cases waiting to be resolved. BT currently only gets 3p a minute
from the £1.50 a minute charge, with the rest going to the company
that has registered the number.
Gavin Patterson, BT group managing director, consumer and ventures,
said, “BT is doing everything in its power to stop this menace. We
have taken the decision to block numbers suspected of being
associated with diallers as soon as we are alerted to a
problem.
“We have offered free premium rate barring to all customers, and
a removable bar for premium rate and international calls for £1.75
a month.”
For more on managed applications
click here >>