Nuisance Telephone Calls

[boatbuilder]

Despite being registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPI), in the past 24 hours I have received EIGHT nuisance calls all from one number.

The first time I answered it as it was from an area code I was familiar with - Cheltenham - 01242 513505. It turned out to be a scam call as the person who spoke claimed to be from BT and spoke with a barely understandable foreign accent. Following that call I checked with the 'Who called me' website ( http://who-called.co.uk/Number/01242513505 ) and there were numerous reports against that number with the claims they were all from BT.

Since then I have had a further seven calls from the same number. However, on some of those calls my caller-display has shown the following number - 0046441242513505. Rather strange as 0046 indicates it is from Sweden, and the 44 is the UK access code followed by the same phone number without the leading zero.

This afternoon I decided to phone BT via the 151 number and they have taken the details of the number(s) and advised that they will be recorded/reported, but also said that these scammers coming from abroad are apparently able to display a false number, so it looks as though the number displayed is probably not the number the call was coming from.

During the conversation with BT they informed me of a new service that is due out at the end of the year and you can read more about it here:

http://bt.com/unwantedcalls and you can register on that page to be kept informed further nearer the time.

[SL-Dave]

I too am with the TPS but also get regular cold calls. The problem is that the TPS has no jurisdiction overseas, and the majority of cold calls originate from overseas call centres despite what the displayed number shows. From looking at the link above, I think the same problem will exist; those calling from overseas or those whose number is withheld will still get through, as the new BT initiative seems to rely on identifying phone numbers. The only way to stop them is to block all calls with numbers overseas or withheld - and this is a problem for many people who might have friends/family overseas. It is also a problem for people as this means most government departments also won't be able to get through, as their numbers are often withheld.

[Trigger]

I’m also registered with the TPS who are, in my opinion, a complete waste of space. A few years ago I had a ‘cold call’ from The Sunday Times - and also had their number from the Caller Display. I complained to TPS who wrote back and said they contacted the offender who wouldn’t trouble me again. One week later I had another cold call from The Sunday Times. That’s why I don’t bother with the TPS.

[nikkai]

I have been getting a lot on my mobile of late to the point where I have now decided to only answer call numbers I know or expect from an area code I know (though this can sometimes be another scam)

[seagull]

I also getting non stop calls on mob.They seem to know a lot about me I find that alarming as very few people know my mob number I never give it out.I have also had people phone me to send my prescription repeats have it done by Leeds I asked doc said don't do it as a scam,a lot people in Lowerstoft are being targeted to have e scrips done via this Leeds company so I warning people.and ppi I get at least 2a day on mob.They all say they replying to my questions which I have never asked

[morty1753]

I have also been getting calls and texts to my mobile. Mostly about an accident I had which was not my fault and I could claim for.

Funny, that accident must have given me amnesia because I don't remember it

I have also had calls offering to review my mortgage and get me a better rate.

Haven't had a mortgage for years so I don't know how they are going to review it.

[boatbuilder]

Not nuisance telephone calls but almost as bad are scamming junk emails. The odd one or two aren't much of a problem but during August and September my wife started to receive loads of them supposedly from well known sources she has never even dealt with herself online. It was obvious from the appearance of the emails what they were and they were never opened but deleted. As the basic text of these appeared in the preview pane without opening the emails they all had a Phillipines mailing address at the foot of the email. When I checked the properties of a number of them the email addresses they were apparently coming from from, despite them all being different, were from various domains which I subsequently discovered were registered in Panama.

From the end of August, rather than delete them immediately, I sent them all to the Junk folder and a month later had accumulated 78 of these. A few days ago, as there was seemingly no let-up in them, I had no option than to create a new, more complex, email address for my wife and then change the email address registered with all her reputable online contacts and accounts. Having done that I have now 'deleted' the old address, although apparently it will continue to receive emails into it for two further months after which, if the account is not reactivated, it will be permanently deleted on the provider's server.

The image below shows just one third of those received during the month that I retained them in the junk folder before deleting them.

[morty1753]

I get an awful lot of those as well. I haven't counted them as you have but they are coming in at a rate of about 5 or 6 a day.

What I have also started getting recently is a lot along these lines.

******************************

Good day!

We are looking for employees working remotely.

My name is Angeline, I am the personnel manager of a large International company.
Most of the work you can do from home, that is, at a distance.
Salary is $2700-$5500.

If you are interested in this offer, please visit Our Site

Have a nice day!

*********************

All of these automatically go to the spam folder so they do not cause me too much bother

[boatbuilder]

Before I did what I did as I mentioned above, after the initial few had come in I added the @domains of the email addresses to the blocked senders list but that made no difference as I then noticed every email had a different @domain.

Your email above, Morty, reminded me of an article on this morning's 'Ripoff Britain' on BBC1. Whilst I was only half-watching it and didn't catch the beginning of the article, it was something to do with recruitment company scams. The program is probably now available on iPlayer.

[Trigger]

Had a phone call yesterday from this number: 01444472354. Just checked it out on “Who Calls Me” site - there’s one report which states: “It’s the Essex and Suffolk water saving project they offer free water saving devices.”
So if you get a call from that number - you’ll know what it is.

[kerch]

I had a message left asking me to an open day of a local garage to view the new cars .
It's eight years since I've driven a car and buying another is not on the cards for a number of reasons .
Is it pot luck these cold calls or they have inside knowledge of drivers or former drivers? Lists from somewhere?
I have never bought anything from the garage in question not even a can of oil.

[boatbuilder]

It could be that as the majority of people own a car, it is just random choices from the phone book - that is if you are listed in it. If you're not then they must have got your number from elsewhere or use random or sequential dialling of numbers on your exchange.

[frankiesays]

I had a message left asking me to an open day of a local garage to view the new cars .
It's eight years since I've driven a car and buying another is not on the cards for a number of reasons .
Is it pot luck these cold calls or they have inside knowledge of drivers or former drivers? Lists from somewhere?
I have never bought anything from the garage in question not even a can of oil.

I work in sales and have to rely on calling people in the business directly to ask if they have need of my services but that is quite time consuming as I have to research them in the first place although it is my preference to take that approach. We sometimes buy a list of business "names" for a few hundred pounds from a marketing agency who will "guarantee" that they are up to date contacts and we then send them out a blanket email e.g. the same email to every contact advertising our services in a personal kind of way and hope some of them call back which will result in enough sales to pay for the list we procured in the first place. you've probably noticed that very often you are asked for personal detail online which seem to have no bearing on what you are trying to do or buy - these details are often sold on to marketing companies. Insurance companies and the people who pick your car up if it is written off in an accident will sell your details to the companies which then pester you to make a claim for whip-lash or "discomfort". I have now had 40 calls in relation to the latter!

Some companies call you by phone and say they are carrying out a survey and ask lots of personal questions about car, mortgage, banking preference etc. but promise they are not going to try to sell you anything. They don't, but they sell your details on to somebody who will so you need to make a point of never participating in those calls in the first place if you want a quiet life.

[kerch]

I do n't answer the phone if I'm not sure who's on the other but sometimes the system fails.

[Trigger]

Just had one of these calls – at 09:03 - asked for me by name (male caller - sounded Middle Eastern). I asked “Who's calling?” He continued talking - I asked again “Who's calling?” Reply: “You don't know me – but I know you. This is the British Criminal Investigations (or something like that). It's a serious matter – are you scared?”
Me: “Am I scared? Of you? You must be joking! Your phone number shows on Caller Display and I will be reporting this call to the Police and to OFCOM.”

The number: 01538049201 has now been added to my “Blocked Callers” list! The caller's location: Ipstones, Staffordshire.