Nuisance calls

[Biggles]

Um, disconnect the handset(s)?

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Biggles

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[Chris Hogg]

My elderly neighbour was complaining about nuisance calls. I said I'd register them with the Telephone Preference Service, but I find they're already registered. I presume this means that the bulk of their nuisance calls are coming from overseas, although I'm also with the TPI and get very few, just the occasional broadband cut-off scam, as do my neighbours.

Is there an alternative or addition to the TPS that also blocks overseas nuisance calls?

[Tim+]

TPS is toothless. Get a call blocking phone, BT 4600 for example.

Tim+

[Chris Hogg]

Hmm...thanks. They did say they'd got a phone that was supposed to stop nuisance calls, but that it didn't seem to be working. I suspect they don't understand how to use or set it up. I'll investigate further.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Tim+ explained on 15/05/2019 :

I agree, but even then - you can set it to block international numbers, but be aware many of these callers simply spoof their number so as to appear to be from the UK or even your local exchange.

My method is to have it block all numbers, except those in its directory. Those which are blocked, all get the opportunity to get through by stating their name and pressing #. Nuisance callers never do, but most genuine callers are aware of these systems and follow the instructions to get through the block - doctors, NHS, police all are well used to this.

[Tim+]

You need to set up a white list and shunt all unknown callers to the answerphone. That way one doesn?t miss anything really important. In my experience nuisance callers (except automated machines) never bother leaving messages.

Tim

[Harry Bloomfield]

Chris Hogg submitted this idea :

Get the make and model, you can then look online for the setup instructions..

[alan_m]

The TPS doesn't work. I let my answerphone take all calls and often the cold callers that use automated messages that are recorded on my answerphone are from, or are on behalf, of a company in the UK. The most recent being related to oven cleaning and boiler replacement.

I also have a TruCall call blocker phone which used to be set to reject number withheld and International numbers. For a year or two this worked well but now a lot of cold callers are spoofing or providing random UK numbers. Again the answerphone works well as 99% of calls are terminated when hearing the answerphone message. I'm now putting numbers into my own blacklist but I suspect that the same spammers are using different numbers each time.

On average I'm logging 2 unwanted calls per day.

If your neighbour is using BT as the supplier then maybe also subscribe to BTs free service that blocks/transfers all calls on their blacklist of spam numbers

[Jim]

I love nuisance calls ..... and am always finding new ways to annoy them.....when I advertise a car on gumtree for example a few minutes later I start getting all those calls from fuzzy wuzzies.....I just rabble on about the car for sale and when are they coming to see it expressing concern that they sound as if they are quite far away ...tee hee

[Harry Bloomfield]

alan_m presented the following explanation :

After a few years of the nuisance calls gradually drying up, thanks to my blocker making it not worth their while, the past few weeks I have had a few such attempts to call me - all blocked.

The usual way to find out if they are spoofed numbers, is to try to ring the stored number back - almost always it will say there is no such number, though sometimes they spoof someone's perfectly genuine number who is not a nuisance caller.

[Martin Brown]

Possibly a setup problem.

You have a few choices -

If they have CLID teach them to answer unsolicited calls with "dead air"

- say absolutely nothing after picking up. Confuses the autodialer and if you do get a human it is fun to listen to them being puzzled.

An add on box that sits between the phone and the outside world which screens calls against some black list and internal rules. I have one on my line and then an answerphone which kills most of the rest. There is a big red button on it for "Block last caller". Something like this:

A phone that has blocking built in. But that might also cause problems if they are very familiar with their existing phone.

If they have no genuine overseas calls then a rule to block them will be highly effective. Likewise for regular nuisance callers - they may be on a suckers list which could explain the higher call frequency.

BT's choose to refuse service which allows nuisance callers to be blocked (but in the hands of the elderly can be risky).

[Jim]

we set up TPS over five years ago on the land line and it has worked fantastically well ever since.....unfortunately the wife bought a new phone from carphone s**te house recently and she is now getting loads of calls with them asking for her by name ....the bastards must have sold her details on......be careful with them....

[David Wade]

The BT service seems to work well, but as the spammers keep rotating their numbers you need to keep updating the blocked numbers. something that I suspect your neighbour may have problems doing for themselves, although its pretty easy. You can do it on the BT web page or by dialing

1572 and then there is an option to add the number of the last call to the blacklist. I see mine has blocked 31 calls in the last 30 days.

It sends the calls to a special voice mail box so if you are really bored can check that once in a while, again from 1572. I don't check mine too often, but there again there has never been anything in it.

Dave

[Allan]

As others have mentioned

TPS is useful but only covers UK bona fide callers and most cold callers these days are not bona fide or are overseas.

BT's Call Protect (configurable online or via 1572) is pretty good. Sky also has an equivalent service.

[Brian Gaff]

What provider is she with? Most companies now offer an extension to the answering service which screens calls before they ring your phone. You can put numbers that are a problem into the block list so the other end just gets a message saying that this number has been blocked. Other methods are available. I have a true call unit, not cheap but this does the screening and also can record calls and its all operated via the telephone keypad, and in this case the caller who may not be on your star or white list gets asked to say their name, not a big message and then it rings the subscribers phone and they can decide to accept or dump it or put it on the star, white list or dump hash list . In the two former cases the caller then gets to speak to you, in the other they do not and that number is blocked. I use the stand alone version here but some telephones now claim to have it built in. The good thing about doing it this way is you have total control over the lists. However no matter how you do it, beware as nhs and others who withhold a number often do not bother to pursue the system, thinking its an answering machine and just hang up. Eventually , I'm sure they will get used to these things. As for the reason why some get calls and some don't its usually the selling of mug lists. If you get scammed once or even if you show interest then a list is made and sold on so others can target their calling. Its supposed to be illegal under GDPR but the point is how do you prove it. For example I have a contract with vodaphone and although I have said no to everything, I seem to get put onto a list where junk texts come from far and wide and even calls to my landline which I have to give them if I have one when I open the contract. Strange then that the same marketing crap about insurance should start coming to both mobile and home phones less than a month after I signed up. They will tell you only legitimate companies working on their behalf have access to the data, but well do we really believe that? Really? Brian

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I have Truecall. Basically you load it with your 'phone book' and it blocks all other numbers. If a number not on that list needs to get through, they can leave a message. But the hoops you have to go through to do this is such that no spam caller will be bothered.

Of course if you don't already have your contact list in electronic form (like say in a mobile phone) it would be a deal of work to create it.

It does, however, work perfectly. You can disable it by simply powering it down. Or by a key press.

[alan_m]

Not any more. International calls from spammers seem to have spoofed UK numbers. I have an (old) caller display unit which logs all calls irrespective of the Trucall phone silently rejecting International and number withheld numbers. In the past I had a lot of cold callers with a International number but in the past six months none at all.

Possibly not if just the basic service is used - just using the BT blacklist and not adding to it themselves.

[alan_m]

I once purchased a phone and a PAYG SIM from shit warehouse and experienced the same - a flood of cold callers a few weeks after purchase. A change of SIM cured the problem.

I get a load of cold callers to my landline number but virtually zero to my mobile.

Even though my experience with Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is that it doesn't work too well with UK cold callers don't forget that you can also register your mobile number(s)

[alan_m]

There are so many of these nuisance blocking machines in use these days that I doubt you will lose any important calls from the NHS/Police etc.

I have no problems with my local doctor's surgery, hospital, opticians, pharmacy etc. They all leave answerphone messages.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Martin Brown used his keyboard to write :

They spoof lots of numbers so blocking last caller just builds up a long list of numbers for no purpose.

They rarely present an genuine international number to be able to filter them, more often they present a spoofed UK number, even a spoofed local number to your own to fool you into answering it.