Rother residents warned of phone scam

A number of people living in the district, including Battle and Robertsbridge, have been phoned by a man claiming to be from BT.

The man, who speaks with an African accent and has been known to use the name John Peacock, says he is a representative of BT and is going to disconnect the line because of an unpaid bill.

He then demands immediate payment of 31, telling the person he has called that it would cost 118 to reconnect the line at a later date.

The man then offers to prove he is from BT and asks the victim to hang up and try and dial another number.

The scammer stays on the line with the mute button on, which means the victim cannot dial out, but he can hear them trying.

When the victim stops dialling, the man hangs up and immediately calls back.

One person who was contacted by the man, but refused to hand over their credit card details, said: "I phoned the police to let them know, and I wasn't the first!

"Their advice was to let as many people know by word of mouth of this scam. The fact that the phone does go off would probably convince some people it's real, so please make friends and family aware of this."

They added: "The sad thing is that it is so simple that it will certainly fool the elderly and vulnerable.

"Obviously, if this scam is real, once they have your credit/debit card details, there is nothing to stop them cleaning out your account."

Anyone who is contacted by this man should not hand over their credit card details, but should contact Sussex Police on 0845 60 70 999.