Another foolish scammer

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

My landline logged a call from a local number on Monday. As I sometimes do, I rang the number back on Tuesday, but from my mobile phone, but the voice message suggested they were busy.

They obviously recorded the fact that I had tried to ring them back, for they rang me on my mobile this morning - again presenting a local to me phone number, but with a very foreign and difficult to understand accent.

He immediatly launced into suggesting my Ebay account had been hacked, had I bought an HP laptop for £50 - I had, bought a new HP recently, but for a lot more than £50.

Did I want to stop the transaction - playing along I said yes please. He then asked me to log into my ebay account - at which point I told him where to go.

Puzzle is - how did they know when ringing my mobile number, what my local code might have been? What number to spoof? I could have rung them from anywhere in the UK on my mobile, when I rang them on Tuesday.

[Sysadmin]

You sure your identity hasn't been compromised...?

[Fredxx]

Or the laptop seller gave away some details? Like name and address? Possibly phone numbers if they're on the eBay account?

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

on 15/09/2021, Fredxx supposed :

It wasn't bought on Ebay.

[Adrian Caspersz]

You are training them. Please stop.

(hangup)

[alan_m]

For the past four weeks I've had two or three phone calls a day from

01202 159xxx where the xxx are different numbers. I've been letting the answerphone pick up at which point the caller hangs up. I've also added the numbers to my phones blacklist so the phones doesn't ring if the same number is used (my separate caller display still records the number).

Today I picked up the call. The caller sounded like a UK native rather than from an obvious Indian call centre. I asked why my number was being cold called as it was registered on the TPS. I was told that it was not a cold call because he was Green Energy adviser and he was not selling anything!!! I asked politely :) for my number to be removed from his list and hung up.

On various "who is calling" web sites the calls from these numbers are identified as being harassing and often silent. People who have answered the phone have identified them as a solar panel and heat pump scams involving "government grants".

[Chris J Dixon]

From the number of calls I have had relating specifically to solar panels, it is clear that the database of installations is being misused.

The most recent wanted to convince me that I was entitled to a free inspection to ensure that my system was in top condition.

Curious about the details of their operation, I asked them to send me their information by email, and they said OK, we already have your email. When I asked how, they hung up.

Chris

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

My landline filter is set so ONLY the known callers get through to ring the phones. The rest get the chance to leave a message, or get through with my approval by pressing hash. They never press hash or leave a message.

[Steve Walker]

Unfortunately neither do the hospital services around here - working on the principle that leaving a message, stating who it is for and that the call is from such-and-such a department at the hospital, is breaking data security by revealing that the "target" has a medical problem. They wouldn't even leave a message when I was thought to have cancer and was waiting for an urgent call in for an exploratory operation!

As my wife has ongoing health problems and is under the GP and a number of consultants, we have to accept all calls, with or without known numbers (even withheld numbers).