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Scam a again

(94 Posts)
BlueBelle Sat 24-Mar-18 14:51:28

I ve just had a phone call about ‘my BT line number xxxxxxx ‘ I answered by saying ‘ I m not interested in your call’ He replied ‘ Well just go and fxxx yourself’ he said it twice then hung up
Just thought I d share that as it’s got to be the best one yet and I hadn’t even had time to saying anything ‘anti scam’ to him
Glad I m not easily shocked

Magrithea Wed 28-Mar-18 12:28:13

Gherkin this is a common ploy by bank scammers. they stay on the line, even though you think you've hung up, and then when you dial your real bank come back on to fool you. All advice from banks is to use another phone if possible to make the check call

Musicelf Wed 28-Mar-18 12:37:05

I've never had abuse but it can only be a matter of time. I have a collection of characters I play out to them (it satisfies the actor in me) or I speak Welsh (I don't speak Welsh but I remember all the old Welsh hymns and recite them as conversation)............

Icyalittle Wed 28-Mar-18 12:37:15

GabriellaG Not only withheld- the latest version of the scam comes up showing your own town / village code. Oh yes, it’s Shirley, such a busy lady: apparently she has been trying to contact us for a couple of days, our router has been compromised, they will provide a new one free of charge if I press 1 to speak to their engineer. DON’T DO IT!!
Look up www.who-called.co.uk.

dizzygran Wed 28-Mar-18 12:48:08

I had an email this morning saying that my bank payment had failed and the service was going to be disconnected on the on 31 March if I didn't update my billing details. A scam phishing for information as OH pays this bill.

I've had a number of the scam "Microsoft calls - usually someone with an Indian accent called James or Marie. Depending on how I feel I usually say the door bell has just rung and put the phone down and carry on with whatever I'm doing.

suttonJ Wed 28-Mar-18 13:31:52

I quite like telling them all they are *** frauds.
But when it's the 'Microsoft' lot, I either let them blather on and then say that this is all very interesting as I don't have a computer. (Lol)
Or...my favourite....I tell them I'm a senior executive for an IT company, and that I'm sooo interested in what they are going to tell me. (I'm actually clueless about tech stuff!)
Does the trick every time.

Growing0ldDisgracefully Wed 28-Mar-18 13:48:00

Tee-hee, lots of good ideas on here! I like playing with these idiots, sometimes leave them hanging while I do something else.A fun game to play with the car accident calls, is to agree you've had ano accident but it say it was in my company car. They will then continue with the hard sell, at which point I tell them I work for the police and it was a police car I had the accident with. It's really funny how quickly they hang up....
I don't actually work for the police I hasten to add!
And yes, I've been called a f*cking tw*t when I've declined other amazing offers from these kind cold callers. Maybe they ought to go into selling mouthwash....

VictoriaMeldrew Wed 28-Mar-18 14:25:39

I had fun the other day. (You don't know where you're going to do you?)

I got a call saying I'd had an accident etc. I usually just put the phone down but obviously I was in a very strange mood.

I said oh it wasn't an accident. She said yes you had an accident and it wasn't your fault.
I said it wasn't an accident I meant to do it.
Her...you had an accident.
Me...no I meant to murder him. It wasn't an accident.
Her...you had an accident
Me..no I've murdered him what do you think I should do?
Her...hold on a minute I'll just ask my manager

I enjoyed it so much I'll be varying the theme but seeing how far I can push them.
I'm relying on you all to come forward if the police get involved smile

minxie Wed 28-Mar-18 14:31:11

I miss not getting these phone calls now I don’t have a land line. Such fun but for those who don’t want them you can download Truecaller onto your mobile it works a treat in shifting out scammers etc

mimiro Wed 28-Mar-18 14:56:41

had one call at 9pm and after the first hello started with fuck oh fuck then switched to another language.
*call and grands*the one with the "american accent"isn't-if you listen closely she doesn't pronounce certain words properly(in american or british
english)
husband used to put on a heavy accent and tell them to hold on while he got his wallet and put the money in the phone.left the phone off the hook.they are stuck with the line open and waste time on waiting.
microsoft--i don't use microsoft,one replyed but you have to...no i don't never have,don't do mac either.
had a 12 of them yesterday.must have hired a new crew.6 different numbers and all the same message-i usually don't bother to answer.my voicemail prompt just says "hello" confuses people and machines.they babble on like its a human.
cell/mobiles can have whatever code they want.if all the people who call with our areacode actually lived here the census count would doublegrin
my staffie likes to talk to people on the phone,so i put it on speaker and she rumbles grumbles and yips at them.when she gets bored she licks the phone and pushes to me to shut off.
another good one is if you know an obscure language-american indian languages are the go to here.yiddish works well too.

mimiro Wed 28-Mar-18 15:03:19

as with emails-if they don't know your name or id number its a scam.
most of these calls aren't even "bought".a robot computer goes down a list of all probable numbers until theres a hit.then the operator of the line picks up the call.
its illegal in the states,but still gets done,because the incoming calls aren't from the usa.

Coco51 Wed 28-Mar-18 15:08:45

Hope you complained

Acciaccatura Wed 28-Mar-18 15:25:46

I noted a particular number on my caller display which was a BT scam. The calls had been coming regularly. So when I next saw that number, I answered with, "Action fraud UK. How may I help you?" The calls stopped from that number. But my favourite bit of fun was had by a friend of mine. She had the usual you've had an accident call and she decided to sound delighted to have help so promptly as "the accident happened only yesterday". Of course, there had been no accident but she managed to keep the call going for some 10 minutes. Finally the scammer realised what was happening and said "You're just wasting my time" to which she sweetly replied "Now there's the irony"!

lindiann Wed 28-Mar-18 15:29:50

smile Young man kept ringing about my loft insulation.
"Your loft insulation is out of date"
"Oh really"
He Prattles on for about 5 mins
"I don't know how to tell you this"
"I don't have a LOFT"
"Therefore I have NO loft insulation"
"Therefore How can it be out of date?"
He slammed the phone down lol!!!

MissAdventure Wed 28-Mar-18 15:29:55

There is a man who has made a good deal of money by charging these companies for his time.
As soon as they phone, he tells them how much his rate is, and he has been paid out by some companies. (UK ones, I presume)

Samie Wed 28-Mar-18 15:34:55

Just been reading all the ways of dealing with nuisance calls - I agree it can be quite funny when you're in the mood for them.
For those of you who prefer a quieter 'phone line - I guess you know about the telephone preference service which should help stop some of the calls. Just google telephone preference service - its free

Murphinator Wed 28-Mar-18 15:38:55

I like to say “Hello! You’re on the air!” That generally gets a quick click. The other one we’re getting here in Canada is one where they’re trying to get you to say “yes” so they can claim they have your consent to scam you (!!) so they start the call with”Can you hear me?” Those get “What? What?” until they get frustrated and hang up.

Marydoll Wed 28-Mar-18 15:40:34

I'm registered with TPS, which still doesn't stop the calls.
I then tell the caller I am reporting them to TPS, that gets them off the line quickly.

Oldwoman70 Wed 28-Mar-18 15:46:02

I used to have fun with these calls but now only get the recorded ones. I did once politely tell one that I wasn't interested in whatever she was selling, said goodbye and hung up - she rang me back saying how dare I hang up on her!

Overthehills Wed 28-Mar-18 15:58:40

I’ve always given them the benefit of the doubt, thinking what a thankless job it was (DS worked in a call centre while he was at uni) and been polite. I’d have been horrified if I’d been spoken to like some of you have - I’m such a delicate flower! Well done Grans, for giving as good as you get!

grannyjean09 Wed 28-Mar-18 16:16:51

My guess is that the caller's least favourite people are the deaf and the foreign au pairs who speak hardly any English. If you want to thwart the callers I suggest you try impersonating the deaf, making sure that you shout loudly enough at them to speak up because you've lost your hearing aid. If you fancy your acting ability and want a challenge try the foreign au pair act. Remember to limit your vocabulary to less than 10 words which you re- use and rearrange in many variations. On a more serious note, I knew of a housebound old lady who had such bad experiences from coldcallers that she completely stopped answering her phone. She had no family locally and only had a basic phone and it meant that the family could never get through to her to check if she was ok. She lay dead for days before her handyman got concerned at her not answering the door and called the police. Those callers don't think about the misery they can cause .

hopeful1 Wed 28-Mar-18 16:30:34

I had a call a few weeks ago from India... I said no thanks and put the phone down. They then rang me back and said why did you put the f...ing phone down you mother f....er you are a c... Charming. I was speechless for once.

HootyMcOwlface Wed 28-Mar-18 16:55:49

I got a call which said they were my credit card company and was I trying to buy £1000 worth of goods in Victoria Plum? No I wasn't but I didn't trust them - I didn't give them any personal information. But it was them and someone had got my card details and were trying to buy themselves a new bathroom! They also spent nearly £500 at a posh chocolate shop!

HannahLoisLuke Wed 28-Mar-18 18:14:08

I've had lots of them too. Latest one from my own local std code also telling me that my broadband was compromised in several countries and would be switched of in 24hours.
As it happened I was having my router changed that day as internet connection is dire and mentioned it to engineer. He confirmed they're all scams as of course I knew. Just damned annoying.

Chinesecrested Wed 28-Mar-18 18:45:57

I just have Callguard on my phone. I haven't got the time or the patience to talk to unsolicited callers! You can bar any call you don't want, and any other unrecognised phone numbers are displayed on the phone so I can ignore them Haha!

BlueBelle Wed 28-Mar-18 18:52:20

Samie I have been with TPS for years and it makes no difference what so ever
Because of my voluntary work I take calls from strangers or phones whose numbers are not known to me so your idea wouldn’t work for everyone Chinesecrested