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The Norfolk County Council‘s (NCC) Trading Standards department has issued a new “Cold Calling Alert” that warns local people to be on the lookout after several cases of fake doorstep sellers trying to peddle broadband services were reported in the region.
According to the notice, three people wearing orange hi-vis vests have recently been going door-to-door in the King’s Lynn area. The cold callers were making claims about being part of a “Government broadband scheme” and were attempting to take payments from residents to “register” for the scheme. Sadly this is by no means the first time we’ve heard about such doorstep scams (another example).
At present there are a number of government-funded broadband schemes (most do not require payments from homeowners). But the most plausible Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) is now closed to new applications and, in any case, this is setup to supply grants to home owners and not take payments directly at the door. The vouchers are normally processed online through registered broadband suppliers.