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MONEY COMMENT
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Last week a friend of mine passed on a warning about the latest scam that appears to be doing the rounds via email at the moment. He'd been told about it by a friend who'd been told about it by a friend who'd been told about it by, yes, you've guessed it, a friend. It's always good to be warned about these things but it turns out this latest scam isn't a scam at all – it's a hoax - although today's Daily Mirror doesn't seem to have realised this yet as it's currently running a headline entitled £20-A-Minute Phone Scam. This will, no doubt, please the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS) who have already been inundated with concerned callers and would probably rather not get any more. The alleged scam involves people receiving a recorded message telling them that they've won a fabulous holiday. They're asked to press 9 to hear further details at which point it's claimed victims are connected to a £20.00 per minute premium rate line. Callers are supposedly charged for a minimum of five minutes even if they disconnect immediately and if they stay connected the entire message lasts for approximately 11 minutes at a cost of £220.00. As ICSTIS point out: A £20.00 per minute premium rate tariff does not exist – the highest premium rate tariff available is £1.50 per minute. Despite the hundreds of enquiries received by ICSTIS about this 'scam' (and most have heard about it second or third-hand), not one person who claims that it has actually happened to them has been able to produce a phone bill to support their story. There are enough real scams doing the rounds for us to be concerned about without imaginary ones being thrown into the equation. So if you get an email about this one, the heartfelt plea from ICTSIS is to delete it rather than forward it to everyone in your address book! Check out some real scams: Watch Out For Lottery Fraudsters! | 'Phishing' For Your Bank Details | Double Your Money Today!