75ZT Community

... incoming international calls from, for example, USA, Egypt, Estonia on my mobile phone.

I didn't realise I knew so many people around the world

Clearly, they go straight to cancel or I let them ring to see if there might be a voicemail message (there never is of course) but I was wondering if anybody had answered such a call recently. It surely can't be the same morons who wasted people's time a few years back with recorded messages asking you to call premium rate numbers can it? That particular scam is so discredited it must have a beard by now.

They only need to catch a very very small number to earn their money so probably still some mileage in it.

Talking to an elderly trusting neighbour the other day. She had someone knock on her door 'can I use your lavatory' and then she discovered jewellery missing.

Had lots of foreign calls lately including Egypt and US. However the app. 'Should I answer?' blocked them all on the mobile. Meanwhile my 'TrueCall' unit has blocked 99% of unwanted landline calls but still allows hospitals etc. through.

I had one yesterday on my mobile

Gill was out at one of client's houses (we do dog walking, visits, boarding etc) and had our business mobile with her. There was a call to my mobile with our local area code on it. I for some reason assumed she'd lost the phone and had a problem, so was calling from the client's landline. Turned out to be an accident claims company spoofing the local code. What's worrying is that they must have some good info on me as they knew my name and clearly must have my address too, as they knew the code to spoof. Don't tend to hand out mobile number to anyone, name and address to even less, so have my suspicions this is from GoCompare who we've used recently

Think it was XX (better not name as not 100% sure) insurance company that recently found that one of their employees was 'flogging' data.

I was plagued by such people to the point that I considered having the landline taken out. Even the most rainbow coloured metaphores was not putting them off, unlike SWMBO who would give me the handset to do the honours, I handed out out some REALLY good and descriptive ones . Until trebor informed me of BT Call Guardian a while ago .
Now I am in telephone heaven, not a single nuisance call since, nil, nada, zilch, it has blocked 100% of them. Anyone who calls for the first time has to leave their name on the message system for the phone to ring, I then accept once, always, or never. The phone displays how many calls it has blocked since the phone was last used eg (2X), it resets when you use the phone. It was high at first (9X), now it just displays the odd one. I cannot recommend this highly enough.
I had 2 or 3 on my mobile phone during the past month or so, following adding a phone number to online services I registered with being required, that I decided to do (even though I tick the little do not share box), I blocked the numbers and they stopped.

Occasionally leading a humdrum existence (by choice), I confess to being an opportunistic agumentifier. It can be fun to accept the call in the manner in which it is made. For instance: two calls from different enterprises over the last week, both with opening requests from me in a friendly yet dumb insolent style: 'Before I release any information I require you to go through security. I need my account number, the date and amount of my last payment to you, and your mother's maiden name'. I have no knowledge of the sub-continental patois for bodily functions but firmly believe I can now compete.



occidere emoticons!

PaulT wrote:They only need to catch a very very small number to earn their money so probably still some mileage in it.

Talking to an elderly trusting neighbour the other day. She had someone knock on her door 'can I use your lavatory' and then she discovered jewellery missing.

There's a tip here, "Don't keep your jewellery in the Lavatory"

I had a call on my mobile a couple of weeks back asking me about my frozen pensions? These will be the next subject to be on the criminals hit list. So take care.

We are on the telephone preference scheme on the BT line so we get no cold callers.

Gary M.

Gary, glad the TPS works for you - certainly does not for me and from what I have read nothing happens if you complain to the Ombudsman.