OFTEL STAMPS OUT PERSONAL NUMBERING SCAMS

72/01
31 October 2001

Measures to stamp out scams through the misuse of personal numbers were announced today by Oftel.

Personal numbers, which begin with the prefix 070, are known as ‘find me anywhere numbers’. They forward calls to specified telephone numbers, including mobile phone numbers.

Oftel’s action follows a number of scams where consumers were encouraged to call 070 numbers. As the charges for calling personal numbers are usually higher than the cost of a normal fixed or mobile call, some customers unintentionally ran up large bills.

Oftel has banned revenue sharing on 070 numbers, which means that the holders of personal numbers can no longer take a share of the profits made from making a call.

David Edmonds Director General of Telecommunications said:

"I have closed a loophole which some companies exploited, causing consumers to run up large bills through lengthy calls to 070 numbers.

"The benefit of 070 personal numbers is that the caller is connected to the end user, wherever he or she is – not that the user receives some kind of payment for receiving the call.

"People were duped into calling 070 personal numbers for other reasons, such as businesses being asked to fax their company details.

"Some companies used 070 numbers to run adult services in an attempt to avoid the regulation that applies to 09 premium numbers.

"Now Oftel has banned revenue sharing on personal numbers, it will no longer be possible to run these kind of scams. The scams will be stopped by not allowing users of personal numbers to make money from calls made to those numbers.

"Oftel’s action should have the additional benefit of encouraging personal numbering service providers to bring down prices for personal numbering services.

"Oftel’s action will benefit users of personal numbers and those calling them, as well as the many legitimate personal number service providers.

"Oftel has already seen a fall in complaints about misuse, due to increased public awareness of the problems that have been associated with 070 numbers. Today’s action will ensure that complaints continue to fall."

Oftel worked closely with ICSTIS, the premium rate services watchdog, to reach this solution. George Kidd, Director of ICSTIS, said:

"The vast majority of premium rate services operate on the correct 090 number range without problems or complaints. However, in the last few months we have become very concerned by a noticeable increase in public complaints and other enquiries about premium rate services operating incorrectly on 070 numbers.

"As a result, we have investigated a number of premium rate competition, fax-back, consumer credit and adult entertainment services operating on 070 numbers in clear breach of our Codes of Practice and have imposed appropriate sanctions, including fines and bars on access, on the companies responsible."

Notes to editors

1 Oftel's statement Restoring trust in personal numbering is available from Oftel's website at www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/numbering/pers1001.htm. Hard copies are available to the media from Oftel's press office on 020 7634 8991 and to the public from the Research and Intelligence Unit on 020 7634 8761.

2 For further information about the regulation of premium rate services please contact Rob Dwight, ICSTIS, on 020 7940 7408.

3 Complaints about misuse of personal numbering services reported to ICSTIS and Oftel included: websites promoting "unregulated premium rate services" on 070 numbers; Internet service providers using 070; newspaper ads for information services on 070 numbers; expensive credit "advice lines"; estate agents, hoteliers and others targeted for faxback scams; and mobile text messages asking people to call 070 numbers.

Examples include:

ICSTIS received a host of complaints from consumers concerning telephone bills up to £13,000 for calls to an ISP which claimed to offer an adult-orientated closed user group service. Dial-up access to that service was labelled free but was via an 070 number that charged 38ppm. Additionally, customers then found that the default setting on their computers had been changed, as a result of accessing the company’s website, and that they were unwittingly browsing the internet at that 38ppm rate. That case was resolved satisfactorily by ICSTIS and Oftel, and the 070 number closed.

Estate agents around the country were contacted by fax requesting that details of properties on their books be faxed to an 070 number. No price warning was given, in spite of the fact that the calls, often to slow fax machines, will cost estate agents 38ppm. Oftel has dealt with a case referred to the Director General by a Member of Parliament concerning a dozen estate agents who had received calls asking for information to be faxed to 070 and 09 PRS numbers. Oftel has also received information about similar calls to hotels asking for accommodation details to be faxed to 070 numbers.