Blocking nuisance calls

[ronan]

Whats the best way of blocking calls from *people* who call and give you the line about your computer having a virus ? We are getting at least two calls a day from them, i have told them to *go away* but it doesn't seem to work.

Mod edit: Watch your wording please!!

 

[ajlelectronics]

Easy, Caller display and don't answer any number you don't recognise, particularly INTERNATIONAL and UNAVAILABLE which most of these junk calls flag. There is no way to prevent the outbound calls being made sadly.

 

[bigegg]

tru-call machine has been recommended on the consumer action group forum

 

[wookie]

You have signed up for the 'Telephone Preferance Service' etc ?

 

[ronan]

I don't understand why they ring constantly, they either get no answer or i tell them to "go away". The problem is my mother isn't well at the moment , she got out of her sick bed yesterday to answer the phone and it turns out it was one of these idiots blethering on about the computer having a virus, makes my blood boil.

 

[toddy]

i have found if you answer saying it is the old bills fraud office etc that works quite nice

 

[MarkG]

That Telephone Preference Service is useless.. Signed up with them on both landline, and mobile, but calls still keep coming through..

Best option is as already said, have caller display.. or as I do.. have an answerphone.. If it's anyone important, they will leave a message.. Nuisance calls don't.

 

[rtbcomp]

I have caller display and I Google any suspicious phone numbers. If they come up as spam I save them to my phone book as "spam" and ignore them in future, I'm ex-directory and registered with the TPS and have very few calls.

 

[Shox Dr]

TPS only works for calls originating from within the UK. Hence why a lot cold call centres use auto dialers outside the UK, if a call is answered then it's passed to a UK call centre, circumventing Ofcom rules.

I don't enter into any dialog with them at all, if we get a call, from an unknown source or are unsure of the callers ID, then wait until they speak, don't say a word. Their system waitings for you to speak, it will be fooled into thinking its a FAX line and will remove it from their list.

Entering into any type of dialog, is a fish on the line in their eyes, so to speak, and they will not give up calling.

 

[shed or dead]

I've not heard of the computer virus calls before but if you receive legitimate, albeit annoying, telemarketing calls just tell them "sorry, this is a business number". They are not allowed to target business numbers to offer personal / domestic services and are usually very quick to remove your details from their lists, which would otherwise be sold on. The potential fines for them are astronomical.

Remember that the majority of cold callers hate their jobs and the constant abuse they receive, and so if you are polite and treat them like human beings (difficult I know) they are more likely to oblige.

 

[ronan]

I've not heard of the computer virus calls before but if you receive legitimate, albeit annoying, telemarketing calls just tell them "sorry, this is a business number". They are not allowed to target business numbers to offer personal / domestic services and are usually very quick to remove your details from their lists, which would otherwise be sold on. The potential fines for them are astronomical.

Remember that the majority of cold callers hate their jobs and the constant abuse they receive, and so if you are polite and treat them like human beings (difficult I know) they are more likely to oblige.

But these aren't legitimate marketing or other cold callers, they are annoying but genuine and i am polite to them. The ones that i am talking about are criminals who ring you with a cock and bull story of a virus on your computer, and if you give them details about your computer they can fix it over the phone. There was one poor old girl in her 80's caught out by this a while ago, and they cleaned out her bank account somehow.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/18/phone-scam-india-call-centres

 

[Hitch]

On most mobiles you can block some numbers, any junk calls I get where their number comes up, I just add to the blocked caller list.
Home phone is a pain in the backside though, a couple of people (me Grandad for one) that ring us use a witheld number for some bizarre reason.

 

[ronan]

On most mobiles you can block some numbers, any junk calls I get where their number comes up, I just add to the blocked caller list.
Home phone is a pain in the backside though, a couple of people (me Grandad for one) that ring us use a witheld number for some bizarre reason.

you're right hitch, its a doddle on the iphone to block someone, but land lines are a pain.

 

[Paul.]

I've had the Indian "Microsoft support" call a few times now, sometimes I wind them up by pretending to go along with it, one call lasted 35 minutes before he realised and cursed me in some far eastern langauge I don't understand, a couple of times I've stuck the phone on the radio speaker and just carried on with what i am doing, a mixture of radio 2 and angle grinder gets rid of them.
@Hitch, get your grandad to prefix your phone number with 1470 when he calls you, it will reveal his number,

 

[Welderpaul]

I've registered all our numbers at home and work with TPS a long time ago and can't recall receiving any unwanted calls since. We have a landline at home (We have to have a landline from BT to get broadband) but anyone ringing rings our mobiles. We never bother answering the home phone on the odd time it rings.

Biggest problem i have with unwanted calls is companies ringing work trying to flog stuff. IT support, insurance, stationary, recruitment agencies etc etc etc. They get the short shrift and number saved as 'No' in my phone. Doesnt stop them trying again and again and again.

When one of the lads' vans got hit by an artic a year or so ago i must have had near on 20 calls from ambulance chasers. They make my blood boil so were an ideal opportunity to vent the weeks anger/stress when they rang. I also changed insurers as it was quite plain they were flogging the details on.

 

[Rocketman]

You have signed up for the 'Telephone Preferance Service' etc ?

It has zero effect from inbound calls from abroad. Not only that all that these 'virus fixers' actually want to do is get you to download a program to steel your details.

 

[the snooper]

ive registered with the tps at home and work and get no unwanted calls, prior to registering at work I got one of these idiots saying I had a virus so I went along with it for a while then ask him how do you know I have a virus ? he said we can see it, how I asked ? through the internet I said I doubt it we don't have the internet here he still insisted I followed his instructions I told him he was a plank and just hung up after I had had some fun with him

 

[cutter]

I use Truecall, I used to get up to 8 International etc per day so I asked BT and they recommended Truecall best thing I did it blocks all unwanted numbers
Alan

 

[Wendelspanswick]

I have a friend who lives for these calls, they are the highlight of his day. I think his record for keeping a cold caller or scammer on the line is approaching an hour!
My favourite was when the scammer asked him to open up windows he said OK and put the phone down for 5 minutes, he then asked the scammer if he could close windows as the snow was coming in!

 

[Paul.]

I have a friend who lives for these calls, they are the highlight of his day. I think his record for keeping a cold caller or scammer on the line is approaching an hour!
My favourite was when the scammer asked him to open up windows he said OK and put the phone down for 5 minutes, he then asked the scammer if he could close windows as the snow was coming in!

That's the kind of thing I did, "can you open a window" when he said what can you see, then told him the curtains were blowing about, then pretended the pc had crashed and took 5 mins or so to reboot, did that twice, kept asking him to repeat his self as I couldn't understand him, (which was true), he gave me a web adress to type in the browser, I said whats a browser so had that explained to me in broken english, then made lots of clicking with the mouse and keyboard, I had a friend working with me that day, we put it on speaker phone and my mate was nearly in tears by the time it was over,