Pain in the A$$ phone calls
13 June 2005, 11:16 PM
#1
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Pain in the A$$ phone calls
Rant deffo on!!
Been getting up to 6 calls a day telling me I've won a cruise/holiday in good ole USA. No name of firm given just press 9 to contact us & claim your prize. I'm already registered with TPS but can't complain about this as I don't have the firm name as it's never mentioned. Apart from changing my number any ideas anyone. Have to admit I have replied to them once managing every swear word I know(a lot as I was in the navy) in about 15 secs. Can't believe they hung up.
Still getting the calls though.
Rant off
Been getting up to 6 calls a day telling me I've won a cruise/holiday in good ole USA. No name of firm given just press 9 to contact us & claim your prize. I'm already registered with TPS but can't complain about this as I don't have the firm name as it's never mentioned. Apart from changing my number any ideas anyone. Have to admit I have replied to them once managing every swear word I know(a lot as I was in the navy) in about 15 secs. Can't believe they hung up.
Still getting the calls though.Rant off
13 June 2005, 11:22 PM
#2
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This could be classed as an invasion of privacy.
Suggestion: Make a diary of the time(s) when they call you over 2 or 3 days. Then call your service provider (bt, telewest, etc.) and tell them you have been receiving nuisance calls, give them the details of times, etc., and ask what they can do to prevent this. If they are unhelpful, threaten to change to another provider, this usually does the trick. Hope this helps.
Suggestion: Make a diary of the time(s) when they call you over 2 or 3 days. Then call your service provider (bt, telewest, etc.) and tell them you have been receiving nuisance calls, give them the details of times, etc., and ask what they can do to prevent this. If they are unhelpful, threaten to change to another provider, this usually does the trick. Hope this helps.
Last edited by bzz; 13 June 2005 at 11:25 PM.
14 June 2005, 12:01 AM
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Copied from a post made by "WANTED" on Midland-scoobies.com
Got this e-mail today.Dunno if this has been posted before, or if it's bull so you'll have to make your own minds up.
Phone Fraud - Warning from the Police
11 May 2005
We have been advised of a telephone fraud currently in operation -this
applies to home and work telephones, landlines and mobiles.
If you receive one of these calls, upon answering the telephone you will
hear a recorded message congratulating you on winning an all expenses trip
to an exotic location. You will then be asked to press 9 to hear further
details. If you press 9 you will be connected to a premium rate line that
costs approximately £20 per minute. Even if you disconnect immediately, it
will remain connected for a minimum of 5 minutes costing around £ 100. The
final part of the call involves you being asked to key in your postcode and
house number, which has other serious consequences. After a further 2
minutes you will receive a message informing you that you are not one of
the lucky winners. The total bill by then will be £100.
Since the calls are originating from outside the UK, BT and other telephone
companies are left relatively powerless to act. The only safe solution is
to HANG UP before the message prompts you to dial 9,
even safer HANG UP on any unsolicited 'free offer calls'.
There is another scam operating on mobile phones as well. A missed call
comes up. The number is 0709 020 3840, the last four numbers may vary, but
certainly the first four will remain the same. If you call this number back
you will be charged £50 per minute.
People have complained about their phone bills, once they have realised the
cost of the call, but apparently this is completely legal.
So beware, do not call back numbers beginning with '0709'.
PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION ONTO YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS.
Phone Fraud - Warning from the Police
11 May 2005
We have been advised of a telephone fraud currently in operation -this
applies to home and work telephones, landlines and mobiles.
If you receive one of these calls, upon answering the telephone you will
hear a recorded message congratulating you on winning an all expenses trip
to an exotic location. You will then be asked to press 9 to hear further
details. If you press 9 you will be connected to a premium rate line that
costs approximately £20 per minute. Even if you disconnect immediately, it
will remain connected for a minimum of 5 minutes costing around £ 100. The
final part of the call involves you being asked to key in your postcode and
house number, which has other serious consequences. After a further 2
minutes you will receive a message informing you that you are not one of
the lucky winners. The total bill by then will be £100.
Since the calls are originating from outside the UK, BT and other telephone
companies are left relatively powerless to act. The only safe solution is
to HANG UP before the message prompts you to dial 9,
even safer HANG UP on any unsolicited 'free offer calls'.
There is another scam operating on mobile phones as well. A missed call
comes up. The number is 0709 020 3840, the last four numbers may vary, but
certainly the first four will remain the same. If you call this number back
you will be charged £50 per minute.
People have complained about their phone bills, once they have realised the
cost of the call, but apparently this is completely legal.
So beware, do not call back numbers beginning with '0709'.
PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION ONTO YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS.
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14 June 2005, 12:51 AM
#9
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From Motley and OFTA
The second scam appears to be a phone scam but is, in fact, an email spoof designed to waste your time. It plays on the public's ignorance of how telephone systems work, and our desire to spread "urban legends".
The trick goes something like this: you receive an email or warning from someone that warns of a "friend of a friend" who has been hit by a phone scam. Typically, the warning tells of a recorded message that congratulates you on winning an exotic holiday. After pressing "9" to claim your "prize", you are connected to a premium-rate line that charges £20 a minute. Even if you hang up straight away, you will be billed for a minimum of £100. Stay on the line for the full thirteen minutes and you lose £260.
Another variation describes a mobile-phone scam where a "missed call" message invites you to call a number that begins "0709 020...". Call this number and you pay £50 a minute for the duration of your call.
As urban-legends website Snopes confirms, these are spoof emails, designed to play on our fears of being ripped off. ICSTIS, which regulates premium-rate telephone lines in the UK, has confirmed that these rumours are untrue. The most expensive premium-rate (090) numbers charge £1.50 a minute.
Thus, these scams are nothing more than hoaxes – it's the emails themselves that are the trick! By forwarding them to everyone in your address book, you are wasting your time and that of hundreds of other people. So, the next time that you receive a weird email of this type, check Snopes first - or just delete it. Otherwise, you join the growing list of gullible hoaxers!
This scam alert was first published on the Motley Fool website: http://www.fool.co.uk/news/comment/2004/c041206d.htm
The second scam appears to be a phone scam but is, in fact, an email spoof designed to waste your time. It plays on the public's ignorance of how telephone systems work, and our desire to spread "urban legends".
The trick goes something like this: you receive an email or warning from someone that warns of a "friend of a friend" who has been hit by a phone scam. Typically, the warning tells of a recorded message that congratulates you on winning an exotic holiday. After pressing "9" to claim your "prize", you are connected to a premium-rate line that charges £20 a minute. Even if you hang up straight away, you will be billed for a minimum of £100. Stay on the line for the full thirteen minutes and you lose £260.
Another variation describes a mobile-phone scam where a "missed call" message invites you to call a number that begins "0709 020...". Call this number and you pay £50 a minute for the duration of your call.
As urban-legends website Snopes confirms, these are spoof emails, designed to play on our fears of being ripped off. ICSTIS, which regulates premium-rate telephone lines in the UK, has confirmed that these rumours are untrue. The most expensive premium-rate (090) numbers charge £1.50 a minute.
Thus, these scams are nothing more than hoaxes – it's the emails themselves that are the trick! By forwarding them to everyone in your address book, you are wasting your time and that of hundreds of other people. So, the next time that you receive a weird email of this type, check Snopes first - or just delete it. Otherwise, you join the growing list of gullible hoaxers!
This scam alert was first published on the Motley Fool website: http://www.fool.co.uk/news/comment/2004/c041206d.htm
14 June 2005, 07:46 AM
#10
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All pressing 9 does is connect you to their operator. It also gets you onto their "sucker" list, and practically guarantees more calls in the future.
I can't quite believe that educated people still perpetuate the myth of "ooh, that's gonna cost you pounds" without doing a little research
I can't quite believe that educated people still perpetuate the myth of "ooh, that's gonna cost you pounds" without doing a little research
14 June 2005, 11:41 AM
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After receiving these calls at 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm every day for alomst a week, I gave up and pressed 9.
I heard a message saying please wait we're connecting you to an operator, dont worry you're not being charged for this call.
Few seconds of music
"Hello, welcome to whatever my name is whatever can I take your name and number"
Me - "No you cant have my name, and you clearly have my number already, if you call me on this number again I'll"
*click*
And the calls have stopped...
Hurah!
As above, there's no way on this planet you can be charged for a call after going through someone elses phone system (ie they call you).
Can you imagine it on the phone bill....
Call - Unlisted number - £100
Me to BT, so Umm how did I call a number I dont know for £100 ?
BT to Me, good point I'll remove the charge from your bill
...
The whole system is based on random dialing across a given range, thus circumvents the sequential dialing laws. Ie. a simple version you cant call numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 in a row but you can call 4,2,1,3.
Its all based on the fact that you happened to pick up the call and now you're listed as a human at their end and thus it'll keep calling until you get past stage 1.
Best bet is to either press the 9, thus marking that your number has been past stage 1 or slap a modem or fax on the end when you know its going to call and send a data reply so the system no longer marks you as a human and stops calling.
Good luck,
Jules
I heard a message saying please wait we're connecting you to an operator, dont worry you're not being charged for this call.
Few seconds of music
"Hello, welcome to whatever my name is whatever can I take your name and number"
Me - "No you cant have my name, and you clearly have my number already, if you call me on this number again I'll"
*click*
And the calls have stopped...
Hurah!
As above, there's no way on this planet you can be charged for a call after going through someone elses phone system (ie they call you).
Can you imagine it on the phone bill....
Call - Unlisted number - £100
Me to BT, so Umm how did I call a number I dont know for £100 ?
BT to Me, good point I'll remove the charge from your bill
...
The whole system is based on random dialing across a given range, thus circumvents the sequential dialing laws. Ie. a simple version you cant call numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 in a row but you can call 4,2,1,3.
Its all based on the fact that you happened to pick up the call and now you're listed as a human at their end and thus it'll keep calling until you get past stage 1.
Best bet is to either press the 9, thus marking that your number has been past stage 1 or slap a modem or fax on the end when you know its going to call and send a data reply so the system no longer marks you as a human and stops calling.
Good luck,
Jules
14 June 2005, 01:56 PM
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Scam or not I don't know but I'm never willing to find out.
This sort of thing is a social engineering virus, and it spreads misinformation. A quick google normally reveals whether its true or not. Sorry if it appears I'm picking on you - I'm not - but our mail system at work became clogged with this very subject last week...
14 June 2005, 02:02 PM
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Things like TPS usually don't cover these. They usually come from abroad and are not covered by our regulations. It comes up on my caller display as International.
I had one the other night and have been TPS'd for AGES. Refused to give my number because they rang me so they must have know what they dialled. Not yet resulted in a flood of calls. Equally, my real-time on line phone bill shows no outgoing call charge that night at that time. You cannot be charged simply by pressing '9'.
I had one the other night and have been TPS'd for AGES. Refused to give my number because they rang me so they must have know what they dialled. Not yet resulted in a flood of calls. Equally, my real-time on line phone bill shows no outgoing call charge that night at that time. You cannot be charged simply by pressing '9'.
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