Getting tired of unsolicited calls

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hubb
hubb Posts: 2,482 Forumite
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in Praise, vent & warnings
My mobile phone used to get a call every blue moon but after foolishly entering my details of what I thought was an ASDA offer of a £500 voucher I now get calls every day in double figures as well as hundreds of spam email (fortunately filtered by Gmail) However, if only one scammer has got my details, how come I get such a diverse and broad nature of unsolicited spam ? How does it work and more importantly, how can I stop this, particularly with my phone as it's relentless. Should I answer and tell them where to go or will this incur a fee ?

It's driving me mad :mad:
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  • DoaM
    DoaM Posts: 11,863 Forumite
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    How does it happen? Because once you're on a scammers list, that list gets sold and resold ad infinitum to anyone willing to buy the date (usually for very small sums).

    What can you do? Install a call blocker app. Some apps (e.g. Should I Answer) link to an online database of numbers and will offer advice about whether to answer ... and you can set it to not even ring if the number is a known scammer. (And you can add your own scammer numbers).

    Answering them doesn't do any good (apart from letting you vent) and won't stop them.
  • hubb
    hubb Posts: 2,482 Forumite
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    Ok, I have just blocked all unsolicited numbers in my phone. A compromise I suppose.
  • Faith177
    Faith177 Posts: 2,927 Forumite
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    I registered my phones with tps and get hardly any now and if I do I just mention the tps and they normally go away
    First Date 08/11/2008, Moved In Together 01/06/2009, Engaged 01/01/10, Wedding Day 27/04/2013, Baby Moshie due 29/06/2019 :T
  • BorisThomson
    BorisThomson Posts: 1,721 Forumite
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    Faith177 wrote: »
    I registered my phones with tps and get hardly any now and if I do I just mention the tps and they normally go away

    That won't stop scammers calling you, who are mainly based overseas and pay little regard to the law.
  • LadyDee
    LadyDee Posts: 4,293 Forumite
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    Simply don't answer the calls. Once you do, they know they have a "live" number and will just keep ringing it.

    If a number isn't in my contact list I let it ring. If no message is left then it wasn't important.
  • Faith177
    Faith177 Posts: 2,927 Forumite
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    BorisThomson wrote: »
    That won't stop scammers calling you, who are mainly based overseas and pay little regard to the law.

    See tbh I've found there has been a massive reduction on both my landline and mobile since joining so something must be working somewhere
    First Date 08/11/2008, Moved In Together 01/06/2009, Engaged 01/01/10, Wedding Day 27/04/2013, Baby Moshie due 29/06/2019 :T
  • Capyboppy
    Capyboppy Posts: 449 Forumite
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    Faith177 wrote: »
    See tbh I've found there has been a massive reduction on both my landline and mobile since joining so something must be working somewhere

    That hasn't happened with myself and hubby. We too have always been registered with the TPS, for both landline and mobile phones. We are forever getting, "I believe you were in a recent car accident' several times a week. This is because as Boris says, if the company is based abroad there is nothing the TPS can do. These companies just hire Brits over here to 'cold call'.

    The last time they rang hubby said I excelled myself in keeping them waiting. After saying it wasn't me that was my sister, she put me through to their 'next in line' as I was shouting up the stairs 'Kayleeeee, quick, there's a man on the phone wanting to know about your car accident.' This went on for about 5 minutes with me consistently shouting for Kayleeeeee to hurry up (what do you mean, your'e still in the bath). Eventually they probably cottoned on, but not before I had had my bit of fun and added to their phone bill hopefully. :rotfl:
  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 72,207 Ambassador
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    I'm registered with TPS and go through periods of being plagued with nuisance calls. At the moment it is endless 'about your recent accident' calls on both the landline and mobile. On the mobile I just block the number but they just use another one. If I have time I now pretend I'm a bit confused and keep them talking about the supposed accident for ages! I usually end up in a long rambling story about being on the way to the airport and then describing a fictitious holiday in excrutiating detail, right down to the colour of the jumper the man in the seat next to me on the plane wore.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the eBay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sales, Boost Your Income, Praise, Vents & Warnings, Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning , UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know.. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • gettingready
    gettingready Posts: 11,330 Forumite
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    When they call just whisper "What are you wearing?".... that normally works
  • Abbafan1972
    Abbafan1972 Posts: 6,895 Forumite
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    I get the occasional car accident call on my mobile and they usually come from London, so I don't answer it.

    We don't use our landline but we have sky talk and there is something on there now called sky shield, which you have to activate. The same as trucall where you can block and allow numbers, the callers get announced before you speak to them and any automated calls won't get through as the caller has to press a button.

    Sky shield is free at the moment (but don't know how long for!).
    Striving to clear the mortgage before it finishes in Dec 2028 - amount currently owed - £43,915.98
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