Scam 'phone call alerts

[UncleEbenezer]

How to avoid scam phone calls:

Never answer a phone call from a number that you don't recognise (caller display definitely ranks as one of the best inventions since sliced bread).

If it actually is a genuine/important caller, they will leave a message.

Not unless b***** desperate. Some of us detest talking without interaction. If I wanted to leave a message, I'd have used a more convenient form (text or email) rather than tried calling you.

If it is really important, they will eventually write to you.

Last time I tried calling someone who applied that policy, by the time I thought of emailing it was too near the event to invite and RSVP by a slow medium. We had a very congenial event but excluding the too-important-to-take-my-call offender.

[Bouleversee]

A couple of months ago we got her a call blocking phone from BT which has cut the calls to zero. You can program in all your known contact numbers and these will get straight through. All other calls are screened by the phone and callers have to leave a short message. The phone will then ring and you can decide to accept or reject the call. In practice, none of the scammers try to get through and the phone doesn't ring. I can still see the calls being received but these don't get put through. Magic !

Yes I concur with that. I got one years ago, and scam calls went down from more or less every day to none, ever. Literally haven't had a single one since.

To clarify - this is a BT phone that you buy, and can use on any landline (mine is Virgin) with no ongoing cost or external service involved.

It's very configurable, but the default settings work fine for me.

Scott.

What happens if you are out? Can legit. callers leave a message? It would take me ages to programme in all people/companies I am happy to receive calls from. Also, how does that work if you have a trio of phones on your landline (the wireless type) as I do in my rather spread-eagled house, to avoid having to carry them around and forgetting to put them back? One of these no longer works so am about to renew the trio and want to buy the best product.

Has anyone clicked on the number the Amazon Prime message tells you to? I'd be interested to know what happens though I suspect you are all too wise to do that.

[Bouleversee]

Agreed. So would the mods like to consider starting a thread for scam phone calls on here.

You could report your own post to alert them and to ask them!

They could, if they so wish, amend the initial subject header to Scam Phone calls or whatever (as I've done above but that would only be for my reply at this stage).

There have been quite a few similar Topics on TLF to date, some probably at DAK.

Edit: Here's a recent one:

Telephone Cold calling
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=19544

OK, but maybe a new header is not necessary then. I did look through recent posts on this board before posting but didn't find anything.

[swill453]

Yes I concur with that. I got one years ago, and scam calls went down from more or less every day to none, ever. Literally haven't had a single one since.

To clarify - this is a BT phone that you buy, and can use on any landline (mine is Virgin) with no ongoing cost or external service involved.

It's very configurable, but the default settings work fine for me.

Scott.

What happens if you are out? Can legit. callers leave a message? It would take me ages to programme in all people/companies I am happy to receive calls from. Also, how does that work if you have a trio of phones on your landline (the wireless type) as I do in my rather spread-eagled house, to avoid having to carry them around and forgetting to put them back? One of these no longer works so am about to renew the trio and want to buy the best product.

It's got an answering machine, they just leave a message as normal. The default is for known numbers (i.e. ones in your phone book) to make the phone ring, and if unanswered to go to the answering machine.

Unknown/withheld/unavailable numbers get a chance to "announce" themselves before the phone will ring, and then you have the choice to accept the call, send it to the answering machine, or drop it. Anyone who really wants to speak to you will go along with this (and you can later easily add them to your phone book if they've provided their number). In my experience over 3+ years, scammers never go as far as announcing themselves, so the phone doesn't ring.

Other features include the ability to programme certain numbers to be blocked/dropped straight away, though I've never used this.

My phone is a BT 8610, you can get it with 1/2/3/4 handsets (which all use the same phone book of course). There's probably newer versions out.

Scott.

[Breelander]

Also, how does that work if you have a trio of phones on your landline (the wireless type) ...

The base station contains the phone book, missed calls list, etc. and handles any blocks you may set up. So it doesn't matter how many phones you connect to it, they all see the same thing.

[Bouleversee]

Thanks to all. Just hope my daughter hasn't got around to buying my new trio yet.

[Sussexlad]

I've used a BT 8500 for several years now and actually answered one nuisance call in that time, because I didn't hear his description properly. It receives a nuisance call around once every other day I guess. Every known caller is displayed and a couple of people who choose to withhold their number, simply say who they are. I think the 8500 was replaced by the 8600 but that too has now been discontinued. The current model seems to be the BT 4600. It's been worth every penny !

Sussexlad

[Garless]

Also, how does that work if you have a trio of phones on your landline (the wireless type) ...

The base station contains the phone book, missed calls list, etc. and handles any blocks you may set up. So it doesn't matter how many phones you connect to it, they all see the same thing.

Don't forget wireless phones go dead in a power cut, I have a wired phone plugged in in what was my home office before retirement, far enough away to ignore but usable in an emergency.

[swill453]

Don't forget wireless phones go dead in a power cut, I have a wired phone plugged in in what was my home office before retirement, far enough away to ignore but usable in an emergency.

I barely use my landline anyway, and certainly wouldn't need it in a power cut. The mobile is far more useful.

Scott.

[Infrasonic]

What are these mysterious 'landlines' that you all speak of?...

[Redmires]

What are these mysterious 'landlines' that you all speak of?...

Copper wires that provide broadband for those of us who live out in the sticks and don't have mobile coverage. Currently providing a whopping 2.5Mb access speed

[Bouleversee]

I also live in a rather rural area where mobile reception is not reliable but I do have fibre and as most of my clothes don't have pockets and don't need a phone when I go out (apart from in an emergency) I prefer to have a landline with mobile extensions dotted around on chargers. I will, however, plug in an ordinary phone in case of power cuts.

[Garless]

Not just rural. I live in an estate two or three miles from GCHQ but regularly am in a mobile not spot EE/Virgin phone, very unreliable unless I drive down to the Morrisons car park.

[XFool]

This is going to be tedious...

In truth this is a GREAT OVERSIMPLIFICATION, nevertheless:

1. I don't get spam landline calls

2. I don't get spam mobile phone calls*

3. I don't get spam emails

Why not? Am I 'special'(!), am I a member of a 'special' group? Are the people who do receive spam members of a 'special' group? I am becoming more and more interested in this.

Perhaps it's all a kind of illusion, in truth a small sample of people on a BB who ARE receiving spam (for whatever reason) post about receiving spam - the vast majority of people are NOT posting about how they receive spam, because they DON'T receive spam. This can then set up a false context to those not receiving spam that 'normal' is receiving spam whereas, as in my experience, 'normal' is NOT receiving spam.

Perhaps (as has in some sense been my experience) spam is or can be very, very sparse and sporadic - statistically clumping. So at any one time there is always somewhere a small group of people who ARE receiving spam and most people are not. Those who are currently unlucky are the ones posting about spam on BBs, perhaps giving a false impression to the majority of the non spammed that spam is 'normal' for everyone else. When really it isn't.

It's a puzzle.


* e.g I have had the same mobile phone and number for about ten years. How many spam calls over that time? I couldn't possibly say. Let's say "3", why not? OK, it might have been 5 (or more), it might have been 4, it might even have been 3, I have no idea. Over ten years!

[Alaric]

1. I don't get spam landline calls

2. I don't get spam mobile phone calls*

I get spam landline but not spam mobile.

The landline number is thirty years old and counting, the mobile number approaching twenty years.

My theory is that it's the telephone directory that's the difference. Landlines have or had them, but not mobiles.

Particularly with the automated messages it's probably a mistake to engage them in dialogue. The theory being that it's a test of how gullible you are, if you press 1 or 2 instead of terminating the call. Thus they try again instead of giving up on the number as a bad job.

[XFool]

I get spam landline but not spam mobile.

The landline number is thirty years old and counting, the mobile number approaching twenty years.

My theory is that it's the telephone directory that's the difference. Landlines have or had them, but not mobiles.

Yes, thanks for reminding me that long, long ago when I got my landline number I chose to be ex-directory. Then again, I thought these spam calls were made via automatic diallers that simply worked through batches of numbers. Could it be that, over the years, these call lists have been whittled down based on past experience to now exclude many non 'takers', or on other criteria?

Particularly with the automated messages it's probably a mistake to engage them in dialogue. The theory being that it's a test of how gullible you are, if you press 1 or 2 instead of terminating the call. Thus they try again instead of giving up on the number as a bad job.

And, with my above comment, could there be a right and a wrong way to deal with these things? Such that over time, if the 'right' approach is consistently used, the spam systems learn to exclude you?

[Alaric]

Then again, I thought these spam calls were made via automatic diallers that simply worked through batches of numbers. Could it be that, over the years, these call lists have been whittled down based on past experience to now exclude many non 'takers', or on other criteria?

Landlines are more well defined. Take a typical number abcde fgihjk. The abcde bit is the published exchange code. The f often indicates the local town or village within the exchange area, so for every abcdef, there's only 99999 numbers to check as valid.

Spamming call centres do sometimes know where you live. If I engage them in conversation, I would point out this is public information through directories and not evidence that they are phoning on behalf of an organisation I have a contract with.

The most alarming messages aren't those who say you have hearing loss, a PPI claim, a no fault car accident, a slow computer, a compromised IP address, but when they claim an error in your Tax Return and they are sending the Police round.

[Infrasonic]

Whether numbers are in official directories or not doesn't really matter, numbers 'leak' via breaches in databases or entities that have your numbers selling them on (hence GDPR), pretty much the same MO as email spam. The rogue operators don't abide by the rules...

I've been ex directory for ever on landline and mobiles, registered with TPS, the works. I still got spam robocalls to my (now ex) LL, and calls/texts to my mobiles.

[PinkDalek]

The most alarming messages aren't those who say you have hearing loss, a PPI claim, a no fault car accident, a slow computer, a compromised IP address, but when they claim an error in your Tax Return and they are sending the Police round.

My bold above.

HMRC maintains a Guidance page showing Examples of HMRC related phishing emails and bogus contact. The section on Bogus phone calls is here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phishing-and-bogus-emails-hm-revenue-and-customs-examples/phishing-emails-and-bogus-contact-hm-revenue-and-customs-examples#bogus-phone-calls.

In all cases, it may assist if the phishing @ HMRC.gov.uk email address is used, if the information requested is available.

[Bouleversee]

1. I don't get spam landline calls

2. I don't get spam mobile phone calls*

I get spam landline but not spam mobile.

The landline number is thirty years old and counting, the mobile number approaching twenty years.

My theory is that it's the telephone directory that's the difference. Landlines have or had them, but not mobiles.

Particularly with the automated messages it's probably a mistake to engage them in dialogue. The theory being that it's a test of how gullible you are, if you press 1 or 2 instead of terminating the call. Thus they try again instead of giving up on the number as a bad job.

Well, I have received umpteen recorded calls from the fake Amazon Prime scammer and never clicked as requested on any of them so spoke to no-one, reported the undoubtedly fake numbers to 1572 but still received more, each with a different number, so I think that theory can be exploded.

I do, however, sometimes enter competitions offered by The Times to subscribers to win holidays etc. and similarly by Gardeners World and of course have to give my phone no. and have often wondered whether these are sold on by the companies offering the holidays etc. I think I may still be in the telephone directory so will look into that. I don't give out my mobile no. to anyone other than banks which require it to ring with a code when making a withdrawal to a new payee and never check the messages on there otherwise. It could also be that delivery systems requiring a phone no. are passing them on.