Phone scams...

[Helen F H]

You may find it helpful for a girl to answer your phone for you.  I heard of one where a company was after the bloke in the house but he had split up with the wife.  Every time the poor woman answered they hung up, knowing it wasnt the person they wanted to speak to.  Eventually she thought she was being stalked and complained to the police.  They traced the number to the bank.

The other thing to do is to get a "tornado" whistle (from any outdoor shop) and blow the bugger as hard as you can down the speaker of your phone.  Should shift the ear wax of the person on the other end! ......did i tell you im an evil little shit?

[Col.Maniac]

I with this too, we usually get people phoning up during dinnertime  asking if we want to buy double glazing when we already got it!,  Best thing to do is let the telephone ring, if its important they will leave a message or you can do a redial works for me no more nuisance phone calls.
Tony

[Simon A]

I've found that the fastest way to get rid of these people is to just tell them it's a rented property. They run away the second they hear that, and they make a little note on the file so no one from the same company calls back!
Simon A

[Mr T.]

They're at it again!


US firms make 'illegal phone calls' to British households
By David Millward
(Filed: 01/12/2003)


American telesales companies are targeting households in Britain with illegal automated calls.

One company offers "a free holiday" in Florida, inviting people to press a number on the keypad for more information.

The firms are turning to British households because they face a clampdown in the United States.

Although at least one of their techniques is illegal, regulatory bodies fear that it could be difficult to enforce European law against companies outside the EU.

So far there have been several complaints about transatlantic cold-calling.

In America, one industry observer believes that "telemarketers" are looking for new markets after moves to introduce a "do not call" list.

In Britain, three million households have said they do not want to receive marketing calls by joining a register run by the Telephone Preference Service on behalf of the Direct Marketing Association.

Companies are obliged to compare their marketing lists against this opt-out directory. Failure to do so can lead to a fine of £5,000 or more.

Further curbs will come into force next month when Brussels regulations become law. These will deal with telephone marketing and spam e-mails. American companies have been lobbying hard against the new rules.

While the telephone marketing industry is strictly regulated in Britain, there are far fewer restrictions in America.

Ashok Kumar, the Labour MP for Middlesbrough South, said the Government must act swiftly to stem the tide of transatlantic marketing calls.

The problem of pre-recorded calls has been increased by the use of machinery that dials telephone numbers automatically.

In Britain companies will cross-check against the names of subscribers who have signed up to the Telephone Preference register.

It is feared that American companies will not do so, sidestepping British data protection legislation, which restricts the selling on of names, addresses and telephone numbers.

"The Americans need to appreciate we do have a 'do not call' list here," said Elizabeth Dunn, a compliance manager at the Information Commissioner's office.

"We would like American companies to abide by our rules."


To join the Telephone Preference register, go to the website at www.tpsonline.org.uk or write to DMA House, 70 Margaret Street, London W1W 8SS.

How to Stop Unwanted Sales Calls

The Direct Marketing Association

[Sean]

Try this link

or this one

This may help if you are getting phone call's that are not wanted

Sean

[Dr Stevil]

Got home last night and there were six silent answerphone messages from "caller withheld their number", one even called this morning at around 7.30am ! So I've just registered with that TPS site , if that doesn't work i'm changing my phone number, f***ing annoying b*****s

[Sean]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Sean @ Nov. 24 2003,16:14)]The second option is ring BT and ask them to put caller withheld ID on you line.  This is a little known service ran by BT, whereby if anyone calling you from a phone with a withheld number will not get through, they get a message saying “this phone dose not accept callers with withheld numbers” if you have any mates that have withheld number on their phone you can give them a 4 digit pin number..

[quote]Got home last night and there were six silent answerphone messages from "caller withheld their number", one even called this morning at around 7.30am ! So I've just registered with that TPS site , if that doesn't work i'm changing my phone number, f***ing annoying b*****s [quote]

ring BT and ask them to put caller withheld ID on you line.  This is a little known service ran by BT, whereby if anyone calling you from a phone with a withheld number will not get through, they get a message saying “this phone dose not accept callers with withheld numbers” if you have any mates that have withheld number on their phone you can give them a 4 digit pin number

[sprozman]

Further to Bren's post, see below an email we've received at work regarding this free holiday scam

The details below are true, please cascade to you mobile phone user anyone
who
receives a call of this type would be advised to contact Independent
Commission
for Standards In Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS)  on 0800 500212

We have received the following information from our security advisors
    on a telephone scam current operating in the UK
    Note it is as likely to targeted to work, home or mobile phones
      The scenario is:-
    Your phone rings and you receive a recorded message;
    "Congratulations.  We are calling to advise you that you have won an
    all expenses paid trip to <an exotic destination>.
      Please press 9 now to hear further details."
    If you press 9, you'll be connected to a premium line that bills in
    the region of £20 per minute.
    If you press 9 and connect, even if you disconnect immediately, the
    other end will stay connected for a minimum of 5 minutes
    - at a cost to you of £100 - the message lasts for 11 minutes.
    The final part of the call asks you to key in your postcode and house
    number (which has other serious considerations) and then,
    after a wait of a further two minutes, responds with the message;
    "Sorry, you are not one of the lucky winners." and disconnects,
    adding a  further £260 to your bill!
    Unfortunately the calls are originating from outside the U.K. and as
    such BT and other providers are relatively powerless to act.
    The only safe solution is to hang up before the message prompts you
    to press 9.

You have been warned!!!!!!!

[Kate R]

i'm not sure if this is actually true. if you go to the hoaxbusters website

specifically http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBIncons....shtml#90phone

it warns against that sort of 'don't dial 9 on your phone cos it'll connect to a premium line' warning.

[Dr Stevil]

Cheers Sean, I'm on Telewest but I'll give them a bell and see if they do it too