Subject: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: YorkshireYankee Date: 16 Sep 11 - 10:04 AM This is NOT an e-mail I've received from someone; this is an account of what happened to me yesterday afternoon (Thurs. 15 Sept, 2011). Do NOT pass this on to "everyone you know", but you might have a few friends -- or maybe elderly relatives -- you can think of who might want to be aware of this... Yesterday afternoon I missed a phone call. When I dialed 1471 to find out who it was, it gave me the number 02070 603887. This number turns out to be an "echo test" (apparently to check the quality of your phone line). I thought this was odd and have been doing some searching online. I found reports by many other people of the same thing happening to them. I also found that people who do answer the call (their caller ID shows the number above) speak to someone (who usually sounds like they may well be calling from an Indian call centre), often from a company called First Call, who may ask for them by name and may already know their address or other personal details. This person says they are due some money (some calls said they were owed PPI*; other calls said they had been in a car accident a few years ago and were owed money; some mentioned a postcode lottery; other reasons were given as well) and asked for personal details like address, date of birth, and bank and/or credit card details. If you give these details, you may be giving them permission to "charge" you for their "assistance" in helping you get the money that is "owed" to you. Or (even worse) you may be giving them the information they need to simply take money from your account. My number is already registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), which allows you to opt out of receiving unsolicited sales and marketing calls, but there are companies with offshore offices who are not subject to UK law, and this appears to be one of them. NOTE: Many people said that if they told the caller they were registered with TPS and shouldn't be calling them, they then received many calls a day from them. This also often happens if you hang up on them or are rude, or even if you ask sensible questions (like "Who are you and where did you get my number from?"). I don't know how to make sure they don't call you again. Some people give them false information. Some people (if they have caller ID) answer the phone with something like "Hello, PC Jones, South Yorkshire Identity Theft Task Force," (which seems to be extremely effective [grin]). The most informative thing I found was a discussion of these calls at: http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/02070603887/4 If you are not already registered with TPS (Telephone Preference Service) but would like to be, their web address is: http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html Finally, for those who are not familiar with the term, *PPI stands for Payment Protection Insurance, (i.e. loan insurance) which has frequently been miss-sold; recent legislation means people may be able to reclaim large amounts of money. For more information, see: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/ppi-loan-insurance Good luck, and be alert (Britain needs more Lerts!) Vikki Fielden |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: Crowhugger Date: 16 Sep 11 - 10:25 PM I really liked this solution: 1. I recorded a custom ringtone of pure silence (can do this directly on my phone, so no cables no downloads).Going to do that one myself. I'm in Canada so I haven't had the identical thing though of course we do have those kinds of scams. My favourite defence: I stopped returning calls to unidentified numbers. It was hard the first time but after that it got easier. If someone honest TRULY needs to reach me, either they will evenutally send a letter or I'll hear about them while chatting with a friend whose number IS in my phone. |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: Penny S. Date: 17 Sep 11 - 03:41 PM Do report them to the phone company. There is a number in the phone book, I think. I did this over a series of silent calls that made it through TPS, and BT knew about them, targetting my area. They were and are working on the problem, but need data. Penny |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: GUEST,PeterC Date: 17 Sep 11 - 06:09 PM Buy an answerphone and turn up the speaker volume so that you can hear incoming calls. A genuine caller will start to leave a message and you can pick up the phone. |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: YorkshireYankee Date: 18 Sep 11 - 07:04 PM Thanks for that advice, Penny S. I considered calling the police but rejected the idea -- I'm sure they don't have time for such things -- but I hadn't thought of calling the phone company. |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: YorkshireYankee Date: 20 Sep 11 - 01:55 PM refresh |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: Rumncoke Date: 21 Sep 11 - 08:51 AM I got a second one of these yesterday, and just hung up the phone. The first time they rambled on about me having a credit card from our bank and them changing the credit limit which they shouldn't do and so I was owed money - a completely shambolic line of reasoning. I let them waste their time the first time, but was not going to let them waste my time again. If they call again I will ask them to tell me about it and then put the phone on the table to let them talk for as long as it takes them to realise no one is listening. Unfortunately these calls are often made using some poor soul's phone line which they have hijacked, so the cost is down to someone else. Anne Croucher |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: MikeL2 Date: 21 Sep 11 - 08:57 AM hi vikki My wife received a call from that number yesterday. However when she answered it a "foreign" voice just said "goodbye". !!!!! Like you we are on TSP and other things to try to eliminate these kind of calls but it appears that calls made from outside the UK cannot be stopped. These calls come through on Caller ID as " International". As my sister and my wife's sister both live in Spain and we have a holiday home there and have made many friends there, we get lots of "international" calls so we usually try to take them. But this caller just used one word and hung up !!! Go figure ??!! Cheers Mike |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: YorkshireYankee Date: 21 Sep 11 - 08:09 PM MikeL2 -- I spoke to a fellow this weekend who says when he gets a sales/suspicious call he exaggerates his (already broad) Yorkshire accent and ends up being hung up on. He figures that they give up trying to understand him because it's just too difficult if English is not your first language. Unfortunately, this won't really work for me (despite my best efforts to acquire a Sheffield accent!) ;-) I am seriously considering trying a few words of French in such situations... |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: YorkshireYankee Date: 23 Sep 11 - 11:44 AM refresh |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 23 Sep 11 - 01:41 PM I read somewhere that you can blow a loud whistle down the phone, it blasts them off the line! |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: YorkshireYankee Date: 24 Sep 11 - 01:44 PM They might decide to pay you back by putting you on the "call frequently" list, though... |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: Dave MacKenzie Date: 24 Sep 11 - 04:07 PM I'm amazed how many of my callers understand neither Broad Scots nor Welsh. |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 24 Sep 11 - 11:01 PM I assume mine all understand me hanging up on them as soon as they say their name & organisation |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: MGM·Lion Date: 25 Sep 11 - 01:04 AM Eliza ~ I thought of that, but considered they might just call back a bit later & blow a whistle right back at me... |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 25 Sep 11 - 04:24 AM I agree, you risk enraging them! |
Subject: RE: BS: UK Phone Scam (First Call/02070 603887) From: MikeL2 Date: 25 Sep 11 - 11:02 AM hi Yorkshire Yankee My parents were both from Barnsley and I spent a lot of my childhood there and in Sheffield & lived near Hull for 3 years so I can muster up a "sortof" Yorkshire accent. If they try it again I will give it a try. But I beleive the most effective course of action is just to hang up. Cheers MikeL2 |