AN URGENT warning to all telephone users against a scam costing up to £500 has proved to be phoney.
Wiltshire Police had issued a caution to phone users that a recorded message reporting the winning of an all-expenses paid holiday added between £260-500 onto the telephone bill.
The rumour began to spread on the internet on Friday and Wiltshire Police were acting on information from British Telecom.
But this week it emerged the scam never happened and was just a hoax.
A spokesman for the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIC) said: "Despite the hundreds of enquiries received about this scam, and most have heard about it second or third-hand, not one person has been able to produce a phone bill to support their story.
"ICSTIC urges anyone who receives an e-mail about the scam to delete it immediately."
Telephone regulators claim the scam is unfeasible because the highest premium rate tariff is £1.50 per minute.
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