009165 Scam calls!

[stockhausen]

Over the past few weeks I have had endless calls from numbers beginning with 009165 and followed by eight digits which are never the same twice.

When I have answered the 'phone, there is invariably a pause (presumably while a free call handler is located) and then an Indian sounding man or woman comes on the line to tell me that my Internet is going to be disconnected.

It makes no difference what I say or do, these calls continue; I have tried calling the callers crooks, swearing at them, wasting their time, asking to have my number removed from their lists or blowing a very loud Ref's whistle down the phone at them - nothing seems to work!

Does anyone know what this new Scam is about and more significantly whether there is anyone to whom I can report the originator?

 

[stockhausen]

. . .
I'd just block all unavailable/withheld numbers but in their infinite wisdom my doctors surgery and my local hospital haven't set the phone calls (voip most likely) to show the numbers when they call you. . . . Blocking foreign calls doesn't work either when they're using mobile numbers or voip with local area codes.

This scam isn't new. If it's mobile just get a call blocker. . . .

There are very good reasons why GPs, Hospitals, Lawyers, Accountants, etc. use "Number withheld"; they regularly make calls using a personal / business 'phone rather than going through a switchboard; they do not want calls to their private number.

As to using a call blocker, I can't understand this; partly for the reasons above and partly because the calling number is NEVER the same twice, I suspect that it is always spoofed. The only way that this can work is if you operate a "White list" of identifiable, acceptable callers.

Sometime ago I heard of a call screening system that didn't ring but asked all callers to leave a message and only put through calls from recognised numbers or who used some code to skip the "Leave a message" request. Great idea but I can't remember what it was

 

[stockhausen]

Probably the original one - Truecall. It's generally considered to still be the best such system. As well as an allow list that goes straight through and an option to have all other calls go silently to voicemail, it also gives you the option to have callers state their name and passes that on to you, giving you the option to answer the call or not. So your phone will ring and if you answer it you'll get a message from your Truecall repeating the name stated by the caller and asking if you want to speak with that caller.

There are various similar products now. The one I use is a cheap one that sends all incoming calls silently to voicemail unless they're from a number on my allow list. Works fine for me - genuine callers leave a message and I'll call them back. Or not, as I please.

Thanks for that, TrueCall is what I was thinking of - their website is https://www.truecall.co.uk/.

It is not exactly clear how they deal with the "silence" that precedes an answered call being transferred to an available Scammer so I fear that they will not actually get your number removed from the list but it certainly seems a lot better than nothing - thanks again