http://www.data-wales.co.uk/ni_070telnumbers.htm
UK 070 "personal telephone numbers"* often appear in Internet fraud mail. Criminals use these numbers to support scams in which they claim to represent the UK national lottery and other British institutions. The supply of these numbers to the fraud criminals is dominated by two UK companies, Magrathea Telecoms Ltd. and Open Telecoms Intl. Ltd.
The list was completed in 2011:
These are the companies which supply most of the numbers - and make a profit from the fraud victims who mistakenly believe that the UK telecoms industry is properly regulated.
1. Magrathea Telecommunications Ltd. Apparently of 5 Commerce Park, Brunel Road, Theale RG7 4AB, Reading, England.
2. FleXtel Ltd. Apparently of FleXtel House, The Commons, Sandbach, Cheshire, CW11 1EG, England
3. Open Telecom International Ltd. Apparently of 2 Eddystone House, 6 Eddystone Road, Wadebridge, Cornwall PL27 7AL, England.
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=14202
+4470 Phone Numbers - Personal Forwarding Numbers
By: Nyla - FraudWatchers.org
July 1st, 2010
+4470 numbers are a major red flag when it comes to scams!
Personal forwarding phone numbers (also called "UK global redirects") are easily recognized, and they are a major red flag when it comes to identifying scams or scammers. The number is often given in the format +447024013818. The country code, (the +44) seemingly indicates that the number is UK-based number. The 70 prefix, however, identifies it as a personal forwarding number.
What is a personal forwarding number? or When is a London phone number not a London phone number?
Many phone providers offer this service for free. The number can be "forwarded" to any phone in the world. The charge for the call, which can be quite high, are billed to the caller, not the recipient of the call. The user of the number can apply for one more or less anonymously. Consequently, scammers love this free, portable number which can fool the unwary into believing they are located in the UK, while the scammer actually receives calls on an anonymous, prepaid cell phone on another continent, in another legal jurisdiction.
Does a personal forwarding number always equal a scam?
With very few exceptions, yes. Because of the high rates charged for the caller, legitimate UK businesses would not be eager to use a +4470 number as a contact number for customers or people applying for a job. Most businesses use +4470 numbers strictly internally, for example, forwarding a personal number to the mobile phone or temporary office location of a foreign-based employee in order to save on phone charges.
In our time here at Fraudwatchers, we've only seen one legitimate business using a +4470 number as a public customer contact number. The business was a small company dedicated to arranging African safaris, and as such, the owners and employees were often traveling abroad and needed a dedicated UK number that could be forwarded to their mobile phones.
If you're given a +4470 number in the course of an email exchange, chances are you are dealing with a scammer. This is especially true if that number claims to belong to a London barrister, lawyer, travel agency, visa agency, lottery claim office or human resources/employment department.
Personal forwarding numbers are often a very good sign that you need to investigate further.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/ ... r41_01.htm
Personal numbers are known as find me anywhere numbers . They always begin with the prefix 070. They are an important service, as users can forward calls to specified telephone numbers, including mobile phone numbers.
The charge for calling personal numbers can be higher than the cost of a normal call. The most common scam is to induce people to call a personal number where the tariff has been set at a higher rate, for example by asking businesses to fax their details to an 070 number. The caller unknowingly runs up a large bill, much of which goes to the person owning the number.