Whilst we are increasingly alert to online and telephone scams, Trip Telecom wanted to highlight a scam we have heard about for customers waiting to get improved fibre broadband in their area.

Customers receive a cold call from someone claiming to be from BT or BT Openreach offering to upgrade / improve / repair their broadband services.

In many cases the scam-caller claims the householder has to download and install software, and on occasion, asks the customer for bank details so they can make a refund against their broadband spend for last month.

Once software has been installed on a machine, they then have access to the users computer, including vulnerable areas, such as internet banking and credit card details.

Remember, nobody at the Trio Telecom, BT, Openreach or any other Internet Service Provider (ISP) will ever require you to download software or provide your bank details to enable an upgrade to fibre broadband.

It is therefore essential to remain vigilant and never disclose personal details.

We have seen press reports of one Scottish resident who reported losing more than a hundred thousand pounds, as a result of scammers deploying this tactic.

Which? Provide online guides for avoiding scams:

Phone: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/phone-scams

Internet: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/l/internet-scams

If you require any assistance with your broadband , or want to check whether you can get fibre broadband in your area, simply call Trio Telecom on 01727 221303.