Landline Spam Blocking

[markw7]

Hi.
Over the last few days I have been getting several calls a day from different numbers who all claim to be from Sky who have noticed an 'issue' with my internet. Obviously this is spam, but it's an absolute pain and at times I just have to unplug the landline to stop the nuisance. However, I can't do this all the time.

It appears Virgin offers nothing in the way of blocking spam which seems pretty bad to me. I'm effectively having to pay for a service that most of the time I have to have 'off'.

I'm ex-directory and registered on TPS so not sure what else I can do. Anyone any ideas? Would changing landline number help?

Thanks 

[Client62]

Stop answering random calls from unknown numbers !   

If the call is genuine a voice message will be left.

Note an call that begins 00 44 ... or +44 ... is almost always an offshore scam.

[markw7]

Thanks!
It's not just the answering, it's the ringing itself that's also annoying........ and I can't always have it turned off as I need to be available on it for genuine calls at certain times of the day.

Numbers over last day have begun 0282, 0186, 0173, 0136, 0194 ..... so not obviously offshore

[goslow]

The fake caller ID's will be ever-changing so there is no way to block so many potential numbers.

This device screens the calls (rather than trying to block numbers)

https://www.truecall.co.uk/category-s/116.htm

requiring the caller to state who they are and press a specific key on their phone to progress the call. Only when they do that does the call come through to your phone and cause it to ring. Any self-respecting scammer won't bother with this as they know they will be talking to someone who is scam-aware.

When I used the device in the past it cut the scam calls to zero.

At £109.99 it is quite pricey for a new unit but it does work extremely well. Second hand units do appear on places like eBay for significantly less (with the usual eBay caveats when buying)

[nodrogd]

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@markw7 wrote:

Thanks!
It's not just the answering, it's the ringing itself that's also annoying........ and I can't always have it turned off as I need to be available on it for genuine calls at certain times of the day.

Numbers over last day have begun 0282, 0186, 0173, 0136, 0194 ..... so not obviously offshore

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I can assure you these calls ARE originating outside the UK. What’s more there is nothing VM or any other Landline provider can do to stop these calls. The PSTN exchanges are using technology from the 1970s that was never designed to receive calls from the internet. It’s like watching a game of snooker on a monochrome TV & trying to find the blue ball. Scammers can clone any telephone number or area code they like in the UK, & the system has no way of knowing where the call is originating. These calls are for the most part coming from India using legitimate software to land the calls in the UK, where they enter our old fashioned insecure PSTN network.

There is also no point changing your landline number:

1) The scammers use automated diallers to call blocks of numbers. My guess is your number was originally allocated to Sky, which is why they are impersonating a Sky call centre (OFCOM publishes lists of all the providers number allocations).

2) You are likely to get even more spam, as the number will be recycled from another user which may have been a business or worse somebody who owes someone a lot of money & has debt collectors chasing them.

The only way to filter these calls until everything goes VoIP in a couple of years time is with a call guard phone that only recognises the numbers you want calling you.