A scam phone calls and emails discussion.

[Steddenm]

If you have a Samsung (or possibly any Android phone) you can turn something on called Caller ID and Spam Protection and it'll list the name of a company (if its a genuine company) or if the call has previously been reported as spam, it'll show as Spam.

Tap your phone icon. Then the three dots in the corner, tap Caller and ID Protection, and go through the settings. It is powered by Hiya



Image shows a screenshot of settings for the Caller ID and Spam Protection option on a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G handset.

 

[pdeaves]

"Nottingham Mortuary! You stab 'em, we slab' em!" is my favourite response for this kind of thing.

Nice. I used to use "<name of road> Barracks, General Dogsbody speaking".

 

[david1212]

I don't know how it is done but now there is a way of setting the caller ID to a unallocated number on your local exchange. I normally do not answer a number I do not recognise but usually will if local. Presuming some others do the same the scammers are playing on this. If this leaves a message on the answerphone the number to call back is of course different.

Because of this I answered a call where the scammer was impersonating Amazon. I strung them along for a few minutes ....

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Interesting. They don't normally do follow-up. I wonder if this is the start of higher quality scams?

I answered the telephone at 0800 this morning to hear a recorded American female voice...."from your Internet Provider to report illegal activity had been carried out on your line and your internet connection would be terminated in the next 24 or 48 hours"....to which I made no reply and the call ceased after 10 seconds. At 0840, another call came with a recorded voice saying I had not responded to the first call, to which I again made no reply and that call ceased after 10 seconds. At 0905, a third call came, exactly repeating what the second call had stated, to which I carried out my normal "make no reply" action.

So an original scam call with two follow up reminder calls.

 

[py_megapixel]

I answered the telephone at 0800 this morning to hear a recorded American female voice...."from your Internet Provider to report illegal activity had been carried out on your line and your internet connection would be terminated in the next 24 or 48 hours"....to which I made no reply and the call ceased after 10 seconds. At 0840, another call came with a recorded voice saying I had not responded to the first call, to which I again made no reply and that call ceased after 10 seconds. At 0905, a third call came, exactly repeating what the second call had stated, to which I carried out my normal "make no reply" action.

So an original scam call with two follow up reminder calls.

"from your internet provider" is an immediate red flag.
A legitimate telecommunications provider would know what their own brand name is!

 

[najaB]

So an original scam call with two follow up reminder calls.

Three automated calls aren't that much more expensive than one - 3p rather than 1p. It's a bit unusual to have actual people making the follow up calls though.

 

[John Webb]

Had a number of calls from various numbers starting 0239 before Christmas and after which didn't get through my 'Call Guardian' system. But today from a similar number someone announced himself as 'Neil' and immediately started to promise me that he could stop all marketing calls. He was firmly told what sort of a person he was and what he could do before I cut him off!

 

[ABB125]

Over the last week or two I've had various missed calls from an 020 3675 xxxx number, ostensibly from London. When I actually answered one (pick up the phone without saying anything), there was just silence. The call ended after a few seconds.

 

[py_megapixel]

Over the last week or two I've had various missed calls from an 020 3675 xxxx number, ostensibly from London. When I actually answered one (pick up the phone without saying anything), there was just silence. The call ended after a few seconds.

Possibly an automated system dialling random numbers to verify that they connect, so that they can be sold to other scammers for use?

 

[ABB125]

Possibly an automated system dialling random numbers to verify that they connect, so that they can be sold to other scammers for use?

I expect that's the case. Although I wonder whether it's usual for the same number (except for the last 4 digits) to be used every time?

 

[MotCO]

Possibly an automated system dialling random numbers to verify that they connect, so that they can be sold to other scammers for use?

Something to look forward to

 

[87 027]

Possibly an automated system dialling random numbers to verify that they connect, so that they can be sold to other scammers for use?

Or more simply a bulk automated dialler calling many numbers simultaneously but terminating the call again because there was no human scammer available to engage with the potential victim.

I recently listened to a security podcast which made reference to an academic study suggesting that whether or not you answer a call doesn’t actually make much difference to the volume of calls you get. This was based on setting up a range of brand new phone numbers and answering half of them whenever a new call came in.

A simple telephony honeypot received 1.5 million robocalls across 11 months

Researchers say that most campaigns take place in short-burst storms and that answering a robocall doesn't mean you'll be targeted more often in the future.

www.zdnet.com

However, the research team's biggest finding was that after answering 1.5 million robocalls across 66,000 phone numbers, researchers said they didn't see a spike in subsequent robocalls.

"News reports and regulatory agencies recommend phone users to avoid answering calls from unknown numbers to reduce the number of robocalls," researchers said.

"Surprisingly, we found that answering phone calls does not necessarily increase the number of robocalls you would receive. Phone users should be cautious when you get a call from an unknown number. However, occasionally answering an unsolicited phone call does not mean you will receive more robocalls."

 

[py_megapixel]

This was based on setting up a range of brand new phone numbers and answering half of them whenever a new call came in.

My suspicion is that what these auto-diallers which verify numbers aren't actually waiting for an answer at all. They're listening for a ringing tone (rather than the not-in-service beeps). This is why they show up as rather elusive missed calls (in that you don't think you've heard the phone) - because as soon as they hear it, they hang up and move onto the next number. Whether you answer the phone is irrelevant.

 

[87 027]

My suspicion is that what these auto-diallers which verify numbers aren't actually waiting for an answer at all. They're listening for a ringing tone (rather than the not-in-service beeps). This is why they show up as rather elusive missed calls (in that you don't think you've heard the phone) - because as soon as they hear it, they hang up and move onto the next number. Whether you answer the phone is irrelevant.

There's a variation on this for mobiles - the autodialler dials your number twice in quick succession. The first call briefly engages the line in the hope that the second then call diverts to voice mail so the scammer can leave a message. Meanwhile the first call disconnects before the phone starts to ring, hence the missed call indication.

 

[MotCO]

A new one I've heard of today. The scammer phones and asks "Can you hear me?" If you answer "Yes", they will doctor this response as an agreement to buy whatever they are selling.

In the example I heard, the respondent was aware of this scam and answered "I can hear you", which upset the scammer who wanted a "Yes" or "No" answer. The respondent continued to say "I can hear you", whereupon the scammer hung up.

 

[eastwestdivide]

A new one I've heard of today. The scammer phones and asks "Can you hear me?" If you answer "Yes", they will doctor this response as an agreement to buy whatever they are selling.

In the example I heard, the respondent was aware of this scam and answered "I can hear you", which upset the scammer who wanted a "Yes" or "No" answer. The respondent continued to say "I can hear you", whereupon the scammer hung up.

Reported by Snopes in 2017, as "unproven":

'Can You Hear Me?' Scam Warning

Dozens of news outlets reported on a purported scam wherein fraudsters supposedly falsify charges by randomly calling people and asking 'Can you hear me?'

www.snopes.com

...Primarily, we haven’t yet been able to identify any scenario under which a scammer could authorize charges in another person’s name simply by possessing a voice recording of that person saying “yes,” without also already possessing a good deal of personal and account information for that person, and without being able to reproduce any other form of verbal response from that person.

Moreover, even if such a scenario existed, it’s hard to imagine why scammers would need to utilize an actual audio recording of the victim’s repeating the word “yes” rather than simply providing that response themselves. As far as we know, phone companies, utilities, and credit card issuers don’t maintain databases of voice recordings of their customers and use them to perform real-time audio matching to verify identities during customer service calls.

In all the news reports we found, interviewees merely reported having been asked the common question (“Can you hear me?”) but did not aver that they themselves had fallen prey to scammers...

...The “Can you hear me?” scam for now seems to be more a suggestion of a hypothetical crime scheme than a real one that is actually robbing victims of money...

 

[Typhoon]

A new one I've heard of today. The scammer phones and asks "Can you hear me?" If you answer "Yes", they will doctor this response as an agreement to buy whatever they are selling.

In the example I heard, the respondent was aware of this scam and answered "I can hear you", which upset the scammer who wanted a "Yes" or "No" answer. The respondent continued to say "I can hear you", whereupon the scammer hung up.

Presumably the correct response would be either to stay silent or to say 'no' (then stay on line while they work it out).

As a class I grump, anyone (even a friend) is lucky to get anything more than 'm' out of me so I would feel pretty safe. Small talk (like 'How are you today' and that sort of drivel) is met with 'Get on with it'! I don't get many calls (fortunately)!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I have just had the monotony of being adhering to the lockdown at home as usual broken by the call from the "female American" recorded voice message to inform me that my non-existent Amazon Prime account has been debited by the sum of £79.99, which was responded to in my usual manner of saying nothing and doing nothing. After the customary ten seconds, the line went dead.

 

[ainsworth74]

Had something a little different yesterday. Whilst the scam itself was typical ("Your NI number has been compromised and false paperwork filed in West Wales! Press 1 to speak to the legal officer to prevent court action!") the thing that was a little odd was that the number they called from was only three digits off my mobile number. If we say my mobile number was 07812 345678 then the scammers appeared to be calling from 07812 345123. I mean I'm sure there are people out there that have a number that close to mine (probably closer even!) but it still seemed a little weird and I've never actually encountered anyone with a mobile number that close to mine!

 

[Typhoon]

I don't get many calls (fortunately)!

I have just had the monotony of being adhering to the lockdown at home as usual broken by the call from the "female American" recorded voice message to inform me that my non-existent Amazon Prime account has been debited by the sum of £79.99, which was responded to in my usual manner of saying nothing and doing nothing. After the customary ten seconds, the line went dead.

My last call was the Amazon Prime scam. I am assuming that people might believe they did sign up for Amazon Prime in their effort to get presents in the run up to Christmas - either intentionally or unintentionally - so might respond.

I have also had a (real) Amazon scam today. 25 standard (ie blue) second class stamps for £22.99! Yeh, right! If only I still had links with Examination Boards - 'An e-commerce site sells 25 second class stamps for £22.99, a second class stamp costs 66p. Assuming the retailer shares the profit with the e-commerce site equally, what percentage profit does the retailer make?'

 

[ABB125]

I have also had a (real) Amazon scam today. 25 standard (ie blue) second class stamps for £22.99! Yeh, right! If only I still had links with Examination Boards - 'An e-commerce site sells 25 second class stamps for £22.99, a second class stamp costs 66p. Assuming the retailer shares the profit with the e-commerce site equally, what percentage profit does the retailer make?'

Challenge accepted!

25 x 66p = £16.50
22.99 - 16.50 = 6.49 overall profit
6.49/2 ~= £3.25 profit per organisation
(3.25/23) x 100 ~= 14%

Although in reality I doubt the profit would be shared equally!

 

[Typhoon]

Challenge accepted!

25 x 66p = £16.50
22.99 - 16.50 = 6.49 overall profit
6.49/2 ~= £3.25 profit per organisation
(3.25/23) x 100 ~= 14%

Although in reality I doubt the profit would be shared equally!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Although it is slightly lower as it has to be sent to the purchaser - although maybe not, one reviewer complained they only got 24 stamps, presumably the other stamp went on the outside of the envelope.) Probably worth 3 marks at GCSE (non calculator paper). I clearly took up the wrong type of employment!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I have also had a (real) Amazon scam today. 25 standard (ie blue) second class stamps for £22.99! Yeh, right!

The supplier does seem to have fairly high positive Amazon rating!

Possibly a useful (if relatively expensive) service for anyone self-isolating who needs some stamps and who doesn't live anywhere near a local Post Office?

Although you can always buy stamps online direct from the Royal Mail and I believe p+p is free if you buy £50+ worth.

P.S. At the risk of going off topic, have always been surprised that Trainline's business model of charging a sizeable fee on rail ticket purchases has been so successful over the years.

 

[Typhoon]

The supplier does seem to have fairly high positive Amazon rating!

Approval rating is for the supplier, not the product. The last comment complains about crushed eggs(?), next but one praises them for a well wrapped birthday present - hopefully not 25 plain stamps. Comments about the item complain about the cost - they were expecting a bargain! GCSE Maths Grade 1 (that's what encouraged my question).

Although you can always buy stamps online direct from the Royal Mail and I believe p+p is free if you buy £50+ worth.

Correct! I e-mailed Royal Mail ages ago, pointing out the lucrative deals retailers have suggesting they advertise the buying on-line. Not even a reply!

Still, I think I have wandered enough!

 

[ABB125]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Although it is slightly lower as it has to be sent to the purchaser - although maybe not, one reviewer complained they only got 24 stamps, presumably the other stamp went on the outside of the envelope.) Probably worth 3 marks at GCSE (non calculator paper). I clearly took up the wrong type of employment!

20-mark university-grade question more like!!!

 

[SteveM70]

My parents keep getting the Amazon scam calls, which they find mildly en retaining as (i) they’ve never gone online in their lives and (ii) lockdown makes life a bit dull. Normally it’s the “Prime subscription” one, but at the weekend they had one to do with a £1,100 laptop.

 

[MotCO]

Although you can always buy stamps online direct from the Royal Mail and I believe p+p is free if you buy £50+ worth.

(At the risk of going OT), you can actually buy individual 'stamps' on line with no P+P. You actually create a printed address label which incorporates a 'stamp' which you stick to your envelope.

 

[dgl]

(At the risk of going OT), you can actually buy individual 'stamps' on line with no P+P. You actually create a printed address label which incorporates a 'stamp' which you stick to your envelope.

Although annoyingly Royal Mail have stopped there being the option of having the printout having a selection of sizes some that were printable directly on to the envelope, a really useful feature.

 

[Jamesrob637]

The worst thing is getting calls from the same number more than twice. I can understand trying a second time, as not everybody will pick up on the first try. But ringing 3/4/5/more times?? One number called me several times within a week before Christmas (fortunately all calls showed as being on weekdays and broadly within office hours) then decided to ring me again last week, as though that might yield some sort of result?!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The worst thing is getting calls from the same number more than twice. I can understand trying a second time, as not everybody will pick up on the first try. But ringing 3/4/5/more times??

Not your GP practice trying to get hold of you, was it?