If you are a BT customer, be on your guard!

BT is warning customers about a series of phone scams involving people claiming to be calling from the company.

If you are targeted, the scammers will call you and warn that your account is in arrears.

They then ask for bank or credit card details to settle the account.

If you ask for proof or refuse to pay, the fraudsters then offer to prove who they are by disconnecting the phone line then and there.

When you put the phone down, the scammer stays connected to their line, creating the impression that your line no longer works.

These places have all been affected:

• Suffolk
• Sussex
• Kent
• Nottinghamshire
• Shropshire
• Warwickshire
• North Yorkshire
• Devon
• West Midlands
• Pembrokeshire

If you get one of these calls, you may notice poor line quality, and a lack of background chatter and no call centre noise in the background, which there usually is when someone from a big company calls you.

This type of phone scam has been happening all over the country.

The Trading Standards Authority admits this type of phone fraud is around.

So if somebody calls you, keep your wits about you, be cynical and mistrust them if you have to, or don’t trust them, particularly if they are asking for money.

If they want your bank or credit credit card details don’t be afraid to say no!

BT says it does sometimes make calls to customers about debt – but they stress that they never carry out disconnections during a call.

They advise customers never to give out any banking details over the phone unless they are absolutely certain who they are dealing with.

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VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol is a new tool allowing telephone calls to be made across the internet, rather than through a phone line.

For those doing this from home, a computer is usually required for connection. However, simple specialist hardware that resembles an ordinary handset is available for commercial users.

VoIP telephone calls are not restricted to other VoIP phones – calls can be made to any type of line. As a result, its is beginning to establish itself as a substitution for a standard telephone line entirely.

Because the information is transmitted over existing broadband networks, the running costs for VoIP operators are significantly less than for traditional line owners, such as BT, who have to incur the cost of maintaining a physical network to government regulation.

This lower cost of operation is transferred to the costs of usage, and can be astonishingly different for international and national costs.

There are also reduced costs associated with VoIP services for customers in terms of internal network management.

An engineer is not required to carry out a number or line change for joining employees, and existing workers can move the VoIP phone to another broadband connection easily, while keeping the same phone number.

Because of this, VoIP offers the benefit of making an internal network completely flexible, offering features that are not possible or practical using a standard line.

The service can be used at home or if travelling as long as there is access to an Internet connection. This means that customers and staff can still contact you via the ordinary land line number, and also means you don`t have to rely on a mobile or public phone to make contact.

Even though a computer isn`t necessary, a VoIP system can be connected to a PC to simplify multi tasking, allowing, for example, you to be connected while using an internet café.

There are VoIP providers that offer the capability of forwarding voice mail and fax to an email address, allowing easier archiving.

Some of these services also allow you to save time with a `spoken aloud` service for such emails, where these are read out upon receipt of a new message.

Benefits also exist for customers. A `virtual` telephone number can be set up, meaning it can be one chosen by you. This includes different area codes to your own normal one.

If it set to a customer`s area code, they will be charged their regular rate for local calls. If you`re not available when somebody calls, the VoIP service can be set to divert to a mobile phone, meaning customers can contact you if you`re away.

A good way of making sure of this is arming all of your team with cheap phones, and linking these to their VoIP service, maximising the effectiveness of the network

Essential Business Telecom Services

Introduction

Telecommunications technology – in all forms, and certainly not least in business – continues to advance at an alarming rate.

Business people, today, are faced with a plethora of existing, convergent or entirely new technologies, and must make important, informed decisions to safeguard the future of their businesses.

New telecommunications technologies, products and services must be suitable for conveying important business information, in the first instance, but must also offer immediate payback in terms of efficiency, flexible working and customer service.

Business Telecom Products & Services

A standard, fixed line, or "landline", telephony is still the mainstay of many modern businesses, and, despite deregulation, British Telecom (BT) is still the largest network provider.

This does not mean, however, that you cannot choose a different service provider to carry calls – indeed, may discounted rate business deals are available elsewhere – even if the telephone line, itself, belongs to BT.

Mobile phones, on the other hand, tend to be supplied as a package, which includes the phone, itself, access to a network – Orange, Vodafone, etc. – and an inclusive number of call minutes, for which you pay a monthly rental fee.

The cost of individual phones is heavily subsidised – indeed, some are supplied free of charge – and a business package may include free calls to other mobile, or landline, numbers registered to the same company.

The Internet is another important telecommunications medium for modern businesses, allowing electronic mail, or other data, to be distributed globally.

Most businesses require a fast, "always on", Internet connection, and may choose from ISDN ("), ASDL, etc. to suit their own, individual requirements.

Many ISPs ("Internet Service Providers") also provide a web hosting service, so it may be possible to have a company website hosted, and obtain cost reductions as a result.

One of the most recent innovations, of course, is 3G ("3rd Generation") – or, strictly speaking, 3.5G, if HSDPA ("High Speed Downlink Packet Access") is included – mobile broadband.

This technology offers a broadband Internet connection, not through a landline, but through a small, lightweight broadband modem – a.k.a. a "dongle" – which sends and receives data to and from mobile phone networks.

The dongle plugs directly into a USB ("Universal Serial Bus") port on, say, a laptop, and provides Internet access anywhere where there is adequate 3G coverage. 3G coverage currently extends to 90%, or more, of the UK population.

Orange mobile broadband, for example, is a recent addition to existing offerings from 3, T-Mobile and Vodafone; the Orange deal offers a download speed of 1.8MB, and a monthly download limit of 3GB, making it suitable for everyday Internet browsing and email, and also includes a free USB broadband modem as part of the package.

The "Web `n` Walk" package, from T-Mobile, on the other hand, offers a download speed of 4.5MB, together with a free modem, but is subject to a 24-month contract, while Vodafone mobile broadband offers a download speed of 7.2MB, 14 times faster than standard 3G.

Do remember, however, that even the fastest download speeds, and most generous download limits, mean little if 3G coverage in your area is poor; all of the 3G providers have coverage maps, and the facility to check coverage by postcode, on their websites