Royal Mail delivery scam

This is not what I am suggesting at all. I were suggesting that if you were to seriously antagonise somebody at one of these scam centres they might retaliate by setting up an autodialler or getting all their colleagues to phone you repeatedly through the night.

Would it involve their time? Could they not just program an autodialler to call your number every ten minutes?

And I am suggesting that you don't give them a phone number that would allow them to do that.

As said before. How would they have your number to start with ?

Bear in mind you've already decided they're scammers.

Of course I don't give them the number. I am assuming they capture this from their system as part of the scam. I assume if they find somebody gullible they need to be able to call them back. Also, they won't want different staff members calling the same number.

And as I said before, I assume their comms system has the functionality to keep a record of the numbers called.

I think I'm living a decade ahead of some then. No landline, and if I need (i.e am forced) to give one I have a VOIP number that is permanently picked up by voicemail.

Are there really people who use call blockers? Totally unnecessary. :-)

a) they are not going to waste their time and money doing it and b) you can always take the phone off the hook or mute the ringer.

Scott submitted this idea :

I don't often bother with them, but when I do, they get a torrent of abuse from me - never a call back. It seems they just accept it.

We may be talking at cross purposes then. What I am saying is if I receive an unsolicited nuisance call on my landline, much as I enjoy winding up the caller, I sometimes wonder if I am taking a risk that they might decide to retaliate with multiple calls.

You seem to assume that the only people able to call you are people you have given your number to. Lists can be sold or traded, numbers can be called at random or sequentially etc.

Scott wrote on 20/02/2021 :

My phone blocks there calls, simples.

What time and what money? If it's an automated process there is no time involved and these scammers are probably making tens of thousands of calls, so the incremental cost of a few more calls would be negligible. And of course I could unplug my phone but it would no longer perform its intended use as a communications device, would it?

Ah, I was responding to the OP who was given the opportunity to enter a phone number into a website they were directed to via a scam email. And that was the scenario where I said "who on earth would give a real number ?"

I don't get scam calls, so don't get a chance to wind them up. Haven't for ages. Although when I did, wherever possible I tried to keep them on the line as long as possible so they weren't picking on someone more vulnerable.

Chris Green submitted this idea :

Your workaround is?

To have a landline which is available for both broadband and to receive, plus make phone calls?

My blocker is built into my phone set, I just block all but known callers.

There was no mention of Amazon in the scam, but I ordered a few items yesterday morning and the scam was timed at 00.41 this morning, so within 18 hours. But not all the items were exclusively from Amazon, a couple were via Amazon Marketplace, and at least one of the deliveries is via Yodel, so the scammer could have picked up the information in several places. Quick though!

Okay, that clarifies it. I try to do the same, for the same reason.

My message came from snipped-for-privacy@dein37.plus.com whatever or wherever that is.

It is very organised through excel sheets and databases.

Have a watch of the 'Jim Browning' channel on YouTube.

The quickest way to deal with this is to hang up as quick as possible and get on with ya life. Don't think by wasting their time, ye are saving someone else. Unlikely with autodiallers.

By actually talking to them, they are learning new skills at comprehension, assertiveness, our regional accents, English mannerisms and possible new ways to hoodwink others at a later date, if not you!

If ye are bored and want to speak to random folks on the telephone, there are genuine interest services for that. Especially with Covid.

on no, not 0898 ....