The number you must never give to an unexpected caller - or you could end up with a big bill and your phone cut off
21.10.2023 - 08:45
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A woman had her phone cut off and was left in hundreds of pounds of debt after falling victim to a phone scam.
Lorraine Edwards, 57, faced repeated demand for payment for mobiles she hadn't ordered after her husband was tricked into giving away a code which enabled fraudsters to order devices in her name.
Following an investigation, O2 has confirmed that Lorraine was the victim of a scam - and have warned customers about the details they should never give away over the phone, as similar frauds are targeting people across different networks.
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Lorraine's ordeal began when she got an email thanking her for the order of a brand new iPhone 14. Minutes later she received a similar email for another phone. She immediately rang her husband, who is disabled, housebound and suffers from seizures, and asked if he had ordered the devices.
He said he hadn’t but 'had spoken to O2 who were offering a 30% discount to their account for being a ‘loyal customer’. Soon afterwards, two devices were sent to their home.
It appears the phones were collected by a bogus courier, because they were never returned to 02. As a result, over the month that followed, Lorraine, 57, and her husband had numerous emails and texts from 02 asking for a payment of £1,179.34 for the phones.
When Lorraine refused to pay, both hers and her husbands phones were cut off for over an hour, and she was forced to call Trading Standards to reinstate them.
“Phones are a lifeline to us, my husband could have a seizure or a fall, and I need to be able to get in touch with