Beware BT Openreach phone scams claiming to upgrade, test or cut off Internet

Reports are on the rise in the UK of phone scams where crooks are calling victims claiming to be from BT Openreach. The crooks claim they can upgrade or test the recipient’s Internet speed, or that the recipient’s Internet will be disconnected due to “illegal activity”.

Phone scams are on the up, especially across the UK. Cyber crooks are always looking for new ways to trick victims into handing over sensitive information or worse, installing malware on their devices.

One latest trick in the UK is for the crooks to claim to be calling from BT Openreach, the company responsible for maintaining much of the UK’s broadband infrastructure (note BT Openreach is a separate entity from BT Broadband, the ISP.)

In most variants of these scams, the caller will either claim to upgrade the recipient’s Internet speed or threaten to shut it off. These are both schemes designed to lure the victim into a scam.

The scam

The aim here is to trick the victim into handing over sensitive information making them vulnerable to identity theft, or to lure them into giving the crooks access to their device, thus making them vulnerable to malware.

In many reported cases, victims reported being instructed to install remote desktop software onto their computers, thus handing access to their devices to criminals who proceed to install malware. This malware can be spyware or even ransomware.

Avoiding these scams

Openreach do not contact customers to ask them to install software onto their computers, nor will they contact Internet users claiming to upgrade, test or cut-off their Internet. If you get such a call from someone claiming to be from BT Openreach, simply hang up the phone.

The same applies to any unexpected call you get from someone claiming to represent an Internet Service Provider. Similar calls have been reported in the UK where the caller was claiming to represent BT Broadband, Sky and Virgin.

We also recommend you have good Internet security installed on your devices to ensure that malware doesn’t take hold of your device. Our recommendation is here.

You can find more information on how to report these BT Openreach scams on our sister site ThatsFake.com here.