Sky UK (Sky Broadband, Sky TV etc.) has warned customers of their services to be aware of “scam” websites that operate by “manipulating Google results or using deceptive ads” to target people looking for Sky’s support. Such sites are designed to “mislead customers” into calling premium rate numbers instead of the correct ones.
According to Sky, these “fraudulent sites“, some of which may adopt a similar style to Sky’s own website in an effort to “pose as Sky customer service“, direct users to phone premium rate numbers that “charge exorbitant rates” (sometimes up to more than £10 per minute!). Savvy consumers who know to check for the legitimate Sky domain will quickly spot these, but others can still be tricked.
Sky themselves say they “never use premium rate numbers” for support, although consumers who aren’t using either their Sky Mobile or Sky Talk service (i.e. support calls are usually free on those) may find that calls to their 03 numbers do still attract a cost (this can vary depending on where you’re calling from and what service you’re using).
Sky asks that anybody who encounters any suspicious websites or phone numbers like this should report them to the operator immediately so that they can take action to get them removed. The provider also provided a screenshot of a dodgy support site below, which appears to have been shut down some time ago.
Example of a Fake Sky Support Site