BT Changing UK Phone Call Clearing Procedure to Combat Fraud

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2014/03/bt-changes-uk-phone-call-clearing-procedure-stop-fraudsters.html?

[In the UK] Many people are probably unaware that the phone line stays open for a period unless both callers replace their respective handsets.......Sadly criminals have learnt to abuse this feature by tricking consumers into contacting their bank or another service.

The proposal is to significantly reduce this call clearing delay time, initially to 10 seconds with an option to reduce it further in the near future if required......Apparently the change will be rolled out across BT’s network in a phased approach, starting in early April 2014......

An example of the type of scam appears in this thread and usually involves a scammer impersonating the police in an attempt to get the victim to attempt to call their bank and, by staying on the line, tricking the person in to divulging their card details.

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=82821