Unsolicited phone calls - the latest episode

[Serial_Apologist]

This might be a useful alert to a new phone scam.

I just now had a strange phone call, telling me that I was aged 60 or under (I am in fact 66, going on 67) and eligible for a £1,000 one-off bonus on my pension scheme (which was not specified by the caller), and that I should immediately dial 5.

Instead of pressing 5, I waited for a few seconds, and the line went dead. Not knowing if the caller could have access to my online bank accounts by complying, I would recommend this course of action to anyone else in receipt of this or similar calls. I now learn that the phone number cannot be called back.

Let's hope by answering the call no damage has been done. If so, I will keep the forum posted for further developments.

[vinteuil]

I have had various such calls, referring to pensions, PPI mis-sellings and the like.

Like you, I do not respond: I do nothing and wait for the line to go dead, which it soon does.
The only way to deal with them....

[Nick Armstrong]

I have had various such calls, referring to pensions, PPI mis-sellings and the like.

Like you, I do not respond: I do nothing and wait for the line to go dead, which it soon does.
The only way to deal with them....

And any 0845 numbers and the like, I now pick up (to stop the phone ringing) and immediately cut off the call without even raising the telephone to my ear.

[Anna]

I had a text on my mobile yesterday saying "Our records show you are owed £3350 due to being missold PPI, phone youhaveppi.com on this number" I immediately deleted but found a website detailing latest scams. Youhaveppi.com evidently was set up on October 3rd and registered in Malaysia. I know none us here (being smart cookies) would fall for any scam but I guess some people do ..... I have registered for cold calling blocking on the landline so no longer get any unsolicited calls.

[vinteuil]

..... I have registered for cold calling blocking on the landline so no longer get any unsolicited calls.

... in which you are lucky! I too am registered thusly, and certainly get far fewer than previously - but still quite a few cold calls get through. I am surprisingly curt with them - not at all the lovely person I am usually found to be

[Flay]

I had a very convincing email the other day purporting to be from Apple, suggesting there had been a security breach with my account. I felt a little suspicious so googled part of the message and discovered it to be a scam.

[Pianorak]

Any such phone-calls and my response is: This is an ex-directory number; how did you get it? Stops them in their tracks, the b*stards.

[Northender]

For a while I used to get calls about a holiday which I had won (yeah, right....). When asked to press a certain number, I pressed a different number. This, I was told, was an 'inappropriate response', and I was invited once more to press the same number. I 'obliged' by pressing a third number. The line then went dead. They haven't called for ages.
Unfortunately, the TPS doesn't cover international calls, which seem to be computer-generated on a massive scale from, among other places, South Africa, Eastern Europe and the Far East.

[Frances_iom]

much of this could be readily solved by the phone companies - the CLI info is provided by the end user hence the various spammers that give false numbers (but also the VOIP providers who use this trick) - however the phone company knws where the carrier from whom the call entered their network as this is used for chargeing - this should form the basis of a CLI thus any nuisance phone readily identified and some stop placed on it
Interestingly there is some USA based comments - http://www.networkworld.com/communit...annoying-calls as the FTC are offering £50k dollars for a solution (tho the USA has 'free speech' which can be used as a shield for spammers - no such applies in EU)

[soileduk]

The redial thing is a scam. What happens is if you press the number they specify you are connected to a phone line that is a premium rate or worse. Please,my friends, do not press any numbers asked by anyone who calls you on spec. In fact don't do it period.

This might be a useful alert to a new phone scam.

I just now had a strange phone call, telling me that I was aged 60 or under (I am in fact 66, going on 67) and eligible for a £1,000 one-off bonus on my pension scheme (which was not specified by the caller), and that I should immediately dial 5.

Instead of pressing 5, I waited for a few seconds, and the line went dead. Not knowing if the caller could have access to my online bank accounts by complying, I would recommend this course of action to anyone else in receipt of this or similar calls. I now learn that the phone number cannot be called back.

Let's hope by answering the call no damage has been done. If so, I will keep the forum posted for further developments.

[Serial_Apologist]

The redial thing is a scam. What happens is if you press the number they specify you are connected to a phone line that is a premium rate or worse. Please,my friends, do not press any numbers asked by anyone who calls you on spec. In fact don't do it period.

Yes - that's it! THANKS for this reminder, soileduk!

[Flay]

No doubt the same applies to text messages that say "if you do not want to receive any more messages then please reply stop"

[PhilipT]

These cold calls were more fun back in the old days when on the other end was a person who spoke English. One acquaintance tried this:

"We're so-and-so and we're in your area at the moment ..."
"Oh good! I run training courses for people like you .."

Another, who lived in a not-ground-floor flat, kept a conservatory company on the line for ages before mentioning the need for stilts.

One of my own: My building society refused to provide combined buildings and contents insurance because I had a lodger, so I got the contents insurance somewhere else. Every time they called to try to sell contents insurance I got them to admit that if I were in an immoral relationship (I used earthier language) with said lodger, they'd cover us, but as I wasn't, they wouldn't.

[MrGongGong]

The TPS service doesn't apply to calls from out of the UK
but I like to play the game of trying to keep them talking for as long as possible
I particularly live the ones from "Microsoft tech support" who seem to have detected serious problems with my windows computer, they are most insistent but even after asking some useful questions like
"what time is it ? "
they don't seem to clock that I don't even own a windows computer (actually I do have three dead ones in the loft !)
it's always interesting to try and have a conversation about what the word "scammer " means

we used to get window selling ones who were thrown by
"I'm so pleased you called"

and trying to get them off the script
"who's your favourite spice girl ? " was a good ploy

[amateur51]

One of my own: My building society refused to provide combined buildings and contents insurance because I had a lodger, so I got the contents insurance somewhere else. Every time they called to try to sell contents insurance I got them to admit that if I were in an immoral relationship (I used earthier language) with said lodger, they'd cover us, but as I wasn't, they wouldn't.

I use a similar ploy with those very keen women who ring your bell & when you arrive tell you

"Good morning, and it is a good morning because we've come to tell you about God's work!"

"Well now, let me see, before you go further, the last time I checked my being a practising homosexual made me abomination in the sight of the Lord. Is that still the case?"

"Well yes Sir, it is"

"Well I see no point in continuing this conversation any further then. Goodbye and thanks for calling"

Such a warm glow