O2 down compensation scams spread across internet as people try to get money back for 4G outage

People are being tricked into calling the police while looking for refunds

(PA)

Customers frustrated by the O2 hack are now being tricked into scams as they search for ways to get their money back.

Police say that scammers are taking advantage of angry users in an attempt to dupe them into getting themselves in trouble.

It comes as false rumours spread across the web about the vast sums of money people might be able to claim.

All the same, O2 really is offering compensation. But it is vastly less than the scams suggest.

The latest warning came as people appeared to be trying to trick others into calling the police to find out about refunds.

"Apparently there is something circulating on social media advising O2 customers to ring 141999 to get a refund after the data issues yesterday. THIS IS A PRANK and will put you through to the emergency operator, please don’t ring it," the Police Service of Northern Ireland wrote on Twitter.

Though the number might look relatively innocent at first glance, it actually just leads to a direct call to the emergency services. Even if users realise this straight away when they call, they will still have made the connection, potentially slowing down the response to legitimate phone calls.

The 141 at the start is simply the prefix used to disguise a number when calling it, so the phone number is really just 999. The 141 will not work as it normally does, since the police have ways of tracking down the phones used to call 999 even if a number is withheld, potentially leading to punishment for hoax calls.

The scam is far from the only false rumours floating around after the O2 outage. A number of false posts claim that the company will be offering vast sums of money to users affected, for instance.

In fact, it is offering them only two days of free time on their contract, or 10 per cent of a top-up for free. Those should be added automatically and customers will be contacted by the company soon.