Universal Broadband Provision Vital in the Fight Against Internet Dialling Fraud - BRUCE

10.38.35am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 29th Jun 2004

Gordon Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm Bruce MP is today speaking for the Liberal Democrats in a Westminster Hall debate on how to stop consumers being defrauded in telephone billing scams.

Mr Bruce commented:

"More and more people are being ripped off by telephone billing scams, sometimes leaving them with telephone bills running into the thousands.

"Internet users in particular are being affected. They are inadvertently visiting sites which disconnect them from their usual internet service provider and hook them up to premium rate sites. These premium rate sites can charge as much as £39 per minute. All this is happening without the users knowledge or consent. The first they know of it is when they get a huge telephone bill.

"This sort of scam can't happen if people have broadband because the telephone and internet provision are separate. This makes the need for universal, affordable broadband provision all the more vital. In the debate this morning I will be highlighting the areas of my constituency which cannot receive broadband and are vulnerable to these scams. BT and the Government must take this issue into account and hasten the roll-out of broadband to remote areas."