A widely shared Facebook post is warning people not to call a premium-rate telephone number that doesn’t exist any more.
The post features an image of a sheet of paper which reads: “To all. There is a scam going around this Christmas. You may get home and find a card on your mat from PDS (Parcel Delivery Service). They will tell you that you have missed a delivery and need to ring them on 0906 6611911.
“If you ring this message you willhear [sic] a recorded message. Once this has started you have already been billed for £315. This is a very expensive premium rate number! If you find one of these cards please call Royal Mail Fraud on 0207 239 6655. Many thanks”.
This particular post was originally published in 2015 but has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent days. In total it has been shared over 250,000 times.
The premium-rate number warned about was once in operation, but was shut down in December 2005. Under Ofcom rules people who ring an 09 number now could not be charged anything like £315 for a one-minute call.
Where it comes from
The warning in the post refers back to 2005 when, according to fact checkers from Snopes, a number of cards bearing the first phone number in the post were delivered to some UK houses. The number was investigated by the UK regulator for all content, goods and services that are charged via phone bills, and shut down in December that year.
The regulator, which has changed name several times and is…
