In fairness to Icstis its job is to regulate not to prosecute for fraud

In fairness to Icstis, its job is to regulate, not to prosecute for fraud. This, it says, is a matter for the police, and it insists that it is working alongside the high-tech crime unit.Unfortunately, all this does not help those already struggling to pay huge phone bills. While most telephone companies, BT included, will allow you to defer payment in relation to these call charges, they will not allow you to forget about payment altogether.Frustratingly, BT provides its customers with a glimmer of hope by saying they will not have to pay up while the offending party is being investigated. And for those who still pay their bills on a quarterly basis, it is often months until they realise the abnormally large charges being incurred.In my case, it was a whopping £200 in three months, which I discovered only when I received a quarterly phone bill that was triple the normal size.

Many of these viruses manifest themselves through internet pop-up screens. With broadband quickly falling in price, now may be the time to do away with your dial-up modem.* Put a premium-rate block on your phone. This might be a problem if you like voting on Big Brother- type programmes, or entering TV competitions, but it will ensure that if you do contract a virus, it cannot make any costly premium-rate calls on your line.* Get a pop-up blocker for your internet browser. Make sure you keep it updated, as new viruses are constantly being created.* Get broadband.

Broadband internet connections do not allow this sort of virus. Some of the best virus software is available for as little as £20 over the internet – an invaluable investment if you are going to keep your computer clean. But for those of us who have already been stung, the road to compensation may be long and tiresome.FACT FILE: INOCULATING YOUR COMPUTER* Get a good virus-checker. However, pinning down the rest is likely to be much trickier. Only this week, it said that it had banned 11 companies that had failed to apply for a licence.However, for those companies that have already managed to get away with the con for several months, Icstis’s orders to pay fines and to refund customers can easily be ignored. With most offenders based in Europe, these companies know that there is a lot of paperwork needed for Icstis to get anywhere near them.So far, the regulator has managed to fine and get customer refunds from eight companies. However, once the investigation is complete, it will demand payment, regardless of the outcome.