Massive increase in Spam and Fake Landline Calls

topgazza

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
15,797
Reaction score
4,039
Points
3,163
Location
Near Basingstoke
Anyone else experiencing a large increase in fake spam calls recently ? I am getting 2-3 a day but we always leave the answer phone on and no messages are left. Of course some banks don’t leave a message but they will always write if it’s urgent or text but I always check online and invariably the numbers have been reported are from India and most reports say they are from Microsoft or BT or similar.
I have started to block the area codes alone as they change the odd digit in the number to avoid whole number blocks. I’ll take the risk of the odd genuine call from towns In the future I’ve never dealt with before. Again they can always write or email if they have a genuine reason for contacting me
It’s farcical though and I have answered the odd one in the past just to wind them up. I have Apple Macs so when they rabbit on about MS support and a virus etc it’s funny when they get all angry when I call them out. Apart from blocking I don’t think there is any more useful way of dealing with them though. Especially as we don’t use our landline to make calls
 
Haven’t used a landline to answer a phone in a decade, serves no purpose so in answering your question, no.
 
We have a landline for Broadband supply so it’s a rip off but we use mobiles all the time for calls. Doesn’t stop the spammers calling the ex directory landline with fake calls.
 
I am too. It’s like an arms race, blocking all withheld numbers, blocking some specific numbers, then whole geographic areas, all international calls, all numbers beginning with 1, 011, 00 etc. Trouble is they are getting clever, using random mobile numbers. This morning, I had one come up with a Welshpool prefix but it immediately changed to ‘International’. Welshpool is now blocked, along with Hull, Perth and any other previously seen spoofed geographic prefixes. Next step will be to block all incoming calls between certain hours, or just dump the landline.
 
I am thinking of dropping the phone completely as well. Important numbers can be changed to call a mobile. Shame we have to pay line rental and not a reduced amount for a line only no phone
 
Last edited:
I got my mum new handsets to stop spam calls getting through to her and they work well. I had similar my self and never had a spam call in the years I had them. You could just buy a single handset if you don't use the landline.

Amazon product ASIN B0787GLHCZ
I recently ditched BT altogether and haven't missed it. I now get EE broadband and as well as increasing my speed 10x, the overall package is cheaper.
 
I have a Panasonic pair of handsets with call blocking which also allows partial number blocking, such as first few digits. I am on Sky FTC which is great but of course still pay them which goes to BT, a line rental for the line. I understand the need to pay for the broadband line but people should get a hefty discount if they dont use the phone. I think I am doing all I can and impossible to stop as your number will have been sold on thousands of times to these people. Even if youre ex directory the minute you give your number to any company you are at risk of being spammed eventually. In some respects its better on the landline then having my mobile clogged up.
 
Does the call blocking on your phone not stop the spam calls getting through? It shouldn't matter how many times your details have been passed on as long as you aren't being pestered.

Regarding discounts, I also think BT should be giving a discount if the broadband speeds are poor. My maximum download speed was 2Mbps. I was paying £18.99/mth on top of my line rental.
 
It does but the cunning buggers change one digit in the number, usually the last, or even spoof the number twice to still get through. I have a big chunk of numbers that are similar bar one or two digits. Trick is to have the answer phone on all the time and to only put the area code in the blocked menu. It does mean any genuine number from that area also gets blocked. But I'll take that risk and in any case mainly hand out my mobile for trusted websites etc. In any case all of the area codes so far have been in obscure, for me anyway, area codes that I'm unlikely to do business in
 
The BT/Trucall system intercepts all calls & callers have to announce who they are before you're offered the option to take the call. If the Panasonic's don't do that then simply turn off the handset ringers & just use them to check the answerphone.

Edit
Sky's Talk Shield system appears to offer the same function as the BT/Trucall hardware.

 
I did notice that benefit on the BT phones. That would be a huge benefit as it would put off most of the chancers as they are not geared up for any interaction at that stage. Happy to have ringer on as we do get the odd call from contacts. We could change all those number to ring a mobile but we would need a dedicated mobile sim...which costs of course. I will investigate the BT phone
Main reason for thread, but its a good wide discussion, is the way these people come in waves. Nothing for a couple of months, then 2-3 a day for a few weeks then silence again. Idiots
 
I'd forgotten about Shield, I'll give it a go. Thanks for the reminder
 
Set up all the recent ones so with the phone blocking and Sky shield it should help.
 
Since buying BT phones with integral Call Guardian I haven’t suffered from a single bogus call. Such numbers are displayed, but the phone doesn’t ring. Then, one simply chooses to permanently block the number.

Highly recommended.
 
Mum had one from virgin, she knows not to say anything but I was in bed asleep so missed it :( I am so bummed, she didn't wake me up.

Guy kept calling, 3 or 4 times my mum had to hang up on him. She said its nothing to do with her its me but he wanted her to do something with her phone as well, I really wish she had woke me up, the stuff I woulda said to him over the phone would probably send shivers down his back.
 

I have the 'home PA' version on my company line. I get a lot of junk calls, but they very rarely bother to complete the screening process, and even if they do I can simply decline the call. Highly recommended.
 
I and my Mother had a dreadful time with spam calls so I got similar phones to those BT ones for both of us.

They have Trucall built in which you may have seen on Dragons Den. They did the job really well, if it's a spam call they hang up and you never even know they've phoned if it's someone that needs to speak to you they leave a very brief message saying who they are and your phone rings.
For friends and family once they've called you once and you've set it they get straight through as normal.

Seemed to do the trick with my Mother as the calls stopped and I moved areas and got a new number, never had a single call since I moved.
 
Last edited:
I've sacked my landline because spam and scam were the only times we got a call. IME these types of calls/texts have increased on mobile too.

We only answer numbers/names we know on the landline, when it goes to answer phone and no message is left we know it’s cold call etc., But like most people now, calls are on the mobile phones.
 
Anyone else experiencing a large increase in fake spam calls recently ? I am getting 2-3 a day but we always leave the answer phone on and no messages are left.

I unplugged my landline phone months ago for this very reason, I never used it and only received sales calls, wrong numbers or scammers. So much better, try it. Just remember to update your doctor, utilities etc. with your mobile number instead and delete your landline off their systems.
 
We've started listing the genuine calls, Doctors Surgery etc that we are likly the get and updating those organisations records with both our mobile numbers. I've been giving my mobile number, only when I have to give a number, rather than my landline for some time. I expect to unplug the phone in the next few months. After a lifetime of having a landline phone its a very strange concept to not have one. Again, its a shame to have to pay for a phone lineat £18.99 or so when you only need it for Fibre Broadband but I suppose there is some maintenance cost involved at the BT end of things to consider. But like the TV licence its become even more of a cash cow
 
We've started listing the genuine calls, Doctors Surgery etc that we are likly the get and updating those organisations records with both our mobile numbers. I've been giving my mobile number, only when I have to give a number, rather than my landline for some time. I expect to unplug the phone in the next few months. After a lifetime of having a landline phone its a very strange concept to not have one. Again, its a shame to have to pay for a phone lineat £18.99 or so when you only need it for Fibre Broadband but I suppose there is some maintenance cost involved at the BT end of things to consider. But like the TV licence its become even more of a cash cow

I thought that but you very quickly forget all about it, no more being woken up with the phone ringing only two hear someone ask about an accident you've been in or that they've detected a virus on your computer, its bliss
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom