Quantum AI scam

DougWeller

They are stubborn, I still get calls from time to time. I answer but don't talk, let them waste their time.

itwasntme001

No one really takes privacy and data protection seriously.  Never give out your information unless you know its legit and is necessary.  I understand some people are naive and get scammed more easily, which is why these scams exist in the first place.

Be judicious with your time/data etc.  If you have to and not sure, then at the very least give fake details and get another phone sim for junk.

refluxer

mike2050 said:

I am now in this scam as I read a new article with Martin Lewis's name all over it and now I'm constantly being harassed with calls. I've had several calls being rude and angry with me when all I have been is polite and calm. How can we stop these calls? I'm not interested in changing my number. 

On the plus side, it doesn't sound like you've actually handed over any money yet ?

Like a previous poster, I no longer answer unknown numbers to my mobile and let my answering machine filter anyone who calls my landline, even when I'm home. Legitimate companies and individuals who have a genuine reason for calling will usually leave a message (you can obviously pick up if you're by the phone) and if they don't, you can simply google the number afterwards (which will usually tell you if it's a legitimate business) or put it into a phone number-specific search engine like Who Called Me ? which will flag up whether or not it's likely to be a scam, based on user-submitted comments.

I would say that literally 100% of the unsolicited, unknown numbers I've ever put into one of those sites have been scammers or companies I don't want to deal with. Opting out of the Electoral Roll 'open register' and registering with the Telephone Preferential Service should help to reduce unsolicited calls from genuine UK companies, but this won't work for scammers.

You can mitigate against missing potentially important calls by adding certain numbers (eg. your dentist, doctor, pharmacy, garage etc) to your contact list/address book to ensure they don't come up as unknown numbers. You can also permanently block numbers on Android phones (and presumably you can on iPhones too) although scammers often 'spoof' numbers so this doesn't necessarily stop them calling you again from a different, randomly-generated number. Another trick they use is to 'spoof' a number from a legitimate business or from your local area, which means you're more likely to pick up and is another reason for not answering numbers not known to you.

Since I started doing this around 5 years ago, I haven't had to deal with a single unsolicited call and haven't (to my knowledge) ever missed anything important.

As for the future, just ignore any finance-based adverts that you see in your email inbox, on social media or on the internet in general and if something does catch your eye, do some thorough research first before even engaging because, as you've found, once you've made any contact with a scammer, they're not going to let you go. Any advert featuring Martin Lewis, Elon Musk, Richard Branson or anyone from Dragon's Den is a scam.

Sadly, it's got to the stage where presuming that every unsolicited call, advert or email is a scam until proven otherwise is the safest approach.

flaneurs_lobster

itwasntme001 said:

I once had a restaurant keep texting me about special offers.  Despite telling them twice to remove my details they still texted.  So I called them up to place a fairly large order for takeaway.  I said I would come round to collect in 20 min.  30 min later the restaurant owner called me to ask how long I would be.  I laughed and told him to remove my details.  He sounded p!ssed off.

Never got a single text since.

Might have been easier to just block the number rather than wasting a large meal. 

That owner will be in a network with all the local takeaways. I'd be wary of ordering take-out for a good while.

itwasntme001

flaneurs_lobster said:

itwasntme001 said:

I once had a restaurant keep texting me about special offers.  Despite telling them twice to remove my details they still texted.  So I called them up to place a fairly large order for takeaway.  I said I would come round to collect in 20 min.  30 min later the restaurant owner called me to ask how long I would be.  I laughed and told him to remove my details.  He sounded p!ssed off.

Never got a single text since.

Might have been easier to just block the number rather than wasting a large meal. 

That owner will be in a network with all the local takeaways. I'd be wary of ordering take-out for a good while.

Number wasn't visible by text so couldn't block.

Restaurant is not local to me, moved away from the area long time ago.

mebu60

DiamondLil said:

mike2050 said:

I am now in this scam as I read a new article with Martin Lewis's name all over it and now I'm constantly being harassed with calls. I've had several calls being rude and angry with me when all I have been is polite and calm. How can we stop these calls? I'm not interested in changing my number. 

Just don't answer the phone to any unknown numbers. If they are legit. they will leave a message.

It is incorrect to state a legitimate caller will leave a message. Unfortunately I receive quite a few calls from hospital / GP surgery which are always withheld numbers and they don't leave a message, they just move to the next person to give an appointment. If I'm able to answer I don't say anything until I know it's someone I wish to speak with. I've missed calls from other genuine callers with an unknown number too and they don't always leave a message either. 

Bostonerimus1

TadleyBaggie said:

So if you haven't actually used them, how can you conclude it is a scam?

You can conclude it's a scam from the circumstantial evidence; repeated calls; overly optimistic promised returns etc. I don't understand why anyone would be interested in any financial company other than the likes of Vanguard, H&L etc which have well known reputations. I would never reply to any advertisement on social media and now just assume that any call I get that I don't recognize is a scam. Sometimes I answer the call and might play them the "Benny Hill" outro music or just say "yes" to everything they ask which always annoys them and often ends in them cursing and shouting - great fun.

MeteredOut

mike2050 said:

I am now in this scam as I read a new article with Martin Lewis's name all over it and now I'm constantly being harassed with calls. I've had several calls being rude and angry with me when all I have been is polite and calm. How can we stop these calls? I'm not interested in changing my number. 

How did they get your number just by you reading an article?

jimjames

mike2050 said:

I am now in this scam as I read a new article with Martin Lewis's name all over it and now I'm constantly being harassed with calls. I've had several calls being rude and angry with me when all I have been is polite and calm. How can we stop these calls? I'm not interested in changing my number. 

Despite Martin repeatedly saying he never, ever does adverts it shows the power of his name that scammers still use it.

In terms of politeness, bear in mind that these are scammers trying to fleece your money so there is absolutely no expectation of politeness. Even a whistle down the phone if they call might be enough to get them to stop. Being polite means they'll think they still have a chance to rip you off. TPS is of no use as scammers never even check it.

Beddie

mike2050 said:

I am now in this scam as I read a new article with Martin Lewis's name all over it and now I'm constantly being harassed with calls. I've had several calls being rude and angry with me when all I have been is polite and calm. How can we stop these calls? I'm not interested in changing my number. 

If it's your mobile and you have a smartphone, there will be an option to mark the number as spam or block it.

If you are with BT/Sky/Talktalk (and probably others) and it's a landline, turn on their call screening system, whereby callers have to record a message and you decided whether to connect. You can safelist regular callers so they only have to do it once. There are also cordless home phones that can filter the calls too. But you need to stop being "polite and calm" with these people - firmly tell them to sod off!