Phone scams

prettywowers

LadyDee said:

I can't remember the last time I had a scam call because I simply I have always ignored calls from unknown numbers.  Eventually your number will drop of the list of victims which is sold on to the next scammer.  By answering you are confirming it is a live number and you can look forward to receiving more calls.  

You're incredibly naïve. 
Often, there are no "lists". The scammers dialer just dials random numbers until they connect. It's simple and cheap to do.

Spank

prettywowers said:

LadyDee said:

I can't remember the last time I had a scam call because I simply I have always ignored calls from unknown numbers.  Eventually your number will drop of the list of victims which is sold on to the next scammer.  By answering you are confirming it is a live number and you can look forward to receiving more calls.  

You're incredibly naïve. 
Often, there are no "lists". The scammers dialer just dials random numbers until they connect. It's simple and cheap to do.

Not really, yes at the beginning it will be random, but once you answer they know your number is live and as LadyDee said it will be sold to other people.

Pollycat

in_my_wellies said:

I rarely use my mobile due to poor signal and have never received anything other than genuine calls until today.In the space of three hours I was called three times by the 'I will be arrested for tax fraud' scammers. I only answered one of them, the second, and I remained silent. All three numbers began 020 and had similar but different remaining numbers. 

Trying to think where they got my number or are they just ringing random numbers?  I did install the Nectar app just before these calls. 

I guard my mobile number (and landline) very carefully.

I can count the numbers of unknown calls to my mobile on one hand.

Last week I had 3 calls from 3 different mobile numbers in the space of 1 hour.

No idea who it was as I didn't answer any of them.

Abbafan1972

I get the occasional call from a mobile number claiming that I will be arrested.  You can block them, but the numbers change, so this can be a waste of time.

I wouldn't ignore a private number call, as a lot of doctors etc and my daughters' college tutor comes up as private number.  With me waiting for my Covid jab, it could be a call about that. 

Pollycat

I just downloaded a free game to my mobile and it wants me to consent to all sorts of stuff:

collection of my personal data for advertising purposes, support & analytical purposes...

App has been deleted - without giving consent.

pbartlett

I have had a couple of calls recently from numbers not in my contact list but the mobile has displayed who they are eg the last one showed the name of the solicitor I am using for house purchase. Very useful, but how is that done?

LadyDee

prettywowers said:

LadyDee said:

I can't remember the last time I had a scam call because I simply I have always ignored calls from unknown numbers.  Eventually your number will drop of the list of victims which is sold on to the next scammer.  By answering you are confirming it is a live number and you can look forward to receiving more calls.  

You're incredibly naïve. 
Often, there are no "lists". The scammers dialer just dials random numbers until they connect. It's simple and cheap to do.

Naive?  Maybe - but I don't get scam calls, and indeed very rarely even get an unrecognised number - maybe one or two in the last 12 months, and those I'd put down to random dialling.

hugheskevi

It is a shame people won't engage with the calls. If everyone just answered the call and spent, say, 5 minutes wasting their time then the whole business model falls apart and the problem would end in no time. A minor improvement for most of us, admittedly, but a massive improvement to the lives of those who are taken in.

They are just looking for someone who will fall for the scam, so it is great for them if those who won't fall for it self-select themselves out of the system (hence why the initial call is almost always automated, requiring action to get to speak to a person), leaving them free to spend time scamming the elderly and other vulnerable people who do fall for the scam. Each individual working on the phones will only get the occasional success, well below one a week, and that is with almost none of their time being wasted by scambaiters - it wouldn't take much to make it unprofitable.

It can also be quite amusing, a spot of role-play, maybe correcting the scammer when they miss or mis-describe a step, I even got to have a genuine conversation with a scammer about the scambaiting YouTube channels we both watch earlier this week, and also found out that the folk on the phones believe the UK and USA govts. refund those who falll for their scams.

Carrot007

pbartlett said:

I have had a couple of calls recently from numbers not in my contact list but the mobile has displayed who they are eg the last one showed the name of the solicitor I am using for house purchase. Very useful, but how is that done?

Your phone is not able to determiine the number of the caller and the caller can easily set it to whatever they like.

All caller ID does is identify legitimate callers that have decided to comply with the system.

Have you never recieved a call pertaining to be from your own number? Most people have.

Stop answering the phone to random calls.

Pollycat

hugheskevi said:

It is a shame people won't engage with the calls. If everyone just answered the call and spent, say, 5 minutes wasting their time then the whole business model falls apart and the problem would end in no time. A minor improvement for most of us, admittedly, but a massive improvement to the lives of those who are taken in.

They are just looking for someone who will fall for the scam, so it is great for them if those who won't fall for it self-select themselves out of the system (hence why the initial call is almost always automated, requiring action to get to speak to a person), leaving them free to spend time scamming the elderly and other vulnerable people who do fall for the scam. Each individual working on the phones will only get the occasional success, well below one a week, and that is with almost none of their time being wasted by scambaiters - it wouldn't take much to make it unprofitable.

It can also be quite amusing, a spot of role-play, maybe correcting the scammer when they miss or mis-describe a step, I even got to have a genuine conversation with a scammer about the scambaiting YouTube channels we both watch earlier this week, and also found out that the folk on the phones believe the UK and USA govts. refund those who falll for their scams.

I have better things to do with my time.

"5 minutes wasting their time" is also 5 minutes wasting my time.