BT Openreach Digital Voice switchover phone scam
Impersonating: BT / Openreach
What is this scam?
Scammers are calling households claiming to be from BT or Openreach, saying their landline must be upgraded to Digital Voice before a looming deadline or face disconnection. They demand a fee for the upgrade, sometimes already knowing the victim's name and address to sound credible. The real BT Digital Voice switchover is free and Openreach never cold-calls customers to request payment for the migration.
Example scam message
Caller: 'This is BT Openreach calling about your line upgrade to Digital Voice. Your current copper line will stop working this month. There is a one-off connection fee of £49.99 to complete the switchover. Can I take a card payment from you now?'
Red flags to look out for
- The message creates urgency — threatening a fine, missed delivery, or account closure.
- Links lead to unofficial domains that don't match the real company's website.
- You weren't expecting this message and can't verify the event it references.
- It asks you to confirm payment details or personal information via a link.
- The sender's number or email address doesn't match the company's official contact.
What to do if you receive this
- Do not make any payments or provide personal details in response to the message.
- Contact your provider directly using the number on their official website.
- Forward the message to 7726 (free spam reporting).
- Report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk.
Received this message?
Forward it to 7726 (free on all UK networks) to report it to your mobile provider.
You can also report it to Action Fraud
or email the NCSC at report@phishing.gov.uk.
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