Virgin Media Community

[bigguy283]

hi there!
i keep getting calls to my landline from 06534   and 06577  numbers that imediately goto a dial tone after i answer the call !!  . I have tried to look up the numbers (06534388933    06536916573  06577142507 ) but i cannot find any area code in the uk that stars with 065 !  .
how can i stop these very worrying and annoying calls?
thanks

[Kath_F · Accepted solution]

Hi bigguy283,

Thanks for your post and apologies to hear you're receiving these sorts of calls.

It sounds as though these may be callers coming through either using a spoofed number or they may be international callers. It's worth making sure you are reporting the calls to Action Fraud UK here so they can get as much information as possible to close the scammer down.

It's also worth registering for the Telephone Preference Service here. It is the UK’s only official ‘Do Not Call’ register for landlines and Mobile numbers and is free. That should help reduce the number of calls you receive. 

Finally we have some very handy and useful information here. 

If you have any further queries, don't hesitate to get back in touch. 

Thanks,

[goslow]

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@bigguy283 wrote:

hi there!
i keep getting calls to my landline from 06534   and 06577  numbers that imediately goto a dial tone after i answer the call !!  . I have tried to look up the numbers (06534388933    06536916573  06577142507 ) but i cannot find any area code in the uk that stars with 065 !  .
how can i stop these very worrying and annoying calls?
thanks

---

The calls are very likely automated scam calls. The 06 prefix is not in use in the UK for anything AFAIK. The caller ID will be faked.

Signing up to TPS may be a useful thing to do in general but will not stop this kind of automated scam call. Reporting to Action Fraud may contribute to helping form an overall picture of telephone fraud but won't do anything to reduce calls like this for you personally. The reporting process is fairly time consuming the last time I tried it. Probably only useful if you have been a victim of fraud where a report should generate a crime number.

Unfortunately, VM have no services to mitigate against this kind of call and you would need to use third party equipment such as a trueCall screening device. Also, some BT phones have trueCall technology/features built in which work in a similar way but not quite as comprehensively.

If you presently use a cordless phone, some models do allow you to block a number range e.g., you may be able to block the 06 prefix if you are being plagued by spam calls using this specific prefix.

[bigguy283]

Thanks for help, i already had my landline registered with TPS , but i re-submitted my details on there website.
I constantly get calls from these 065 numbers dailly, and it is very worrying, as i do not understand the reason for calling me constantly , and as soon as i answer the call i get a dialtone!.

[goslow]

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@bigguy283 wrote:
Thanks for help, i already had my landline registered with TPS , but i re-submitted my details on there website.
I constantly get calls from these 065 numbers dailly, and it is very worrying, as i do not understand the reason for calling me constantly , and as soon as i answer the call i get a dialtone!.

---

TPS is a database used by legitimate companies. Legitimate companies will avoid calling people listed on the register for marketing purposes. Unfortunately, it won't help you in this case.

Your calls are, most-likely, from criminal/scam callers. They use automated equipment to dial large blocks of telephone numbers. Their aim is to defraud you by a variety of means if you happen to answer the phone and they can get to talk to you. A range of phone scams, and how they work, are described below in this booklet from the Met police

https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/central/advice/fraud/met/little-booklet-of-p...

Fake VM tech support calls are regularly mentioned on here. VM do not make unsolicited tech support calls to customers out of the blue, so if you get a call like that it is a scam.

Typically, many more scam calls are placed than there are scammer call handlers to field those calls. If you get an automated call, but a scammer call handler is not available to talk to you, then the automated process just drops the call which is why the line is dead when you answer.

Your best bet is just to avoid answering the calls which you do not recognise on caller ID. Let it go to answering machine or even better just ring out unanswered. Eventually the automated calling process will 'learn' that your number is unresponsive and you may find the calls will subside some.

My own line is currently being called this week by fake numbers from 01202###### where the # keeps changing. However, the trueCall device on my line screens the calls and prevents my phone from ever ringing

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

What make and model of phone are you using at present? It may possibly have some features which could help mitigate against the calls, such as the number range filtering mentioned above.

[Corey_C]

Goslow's answer is spot on. Another alternative would be having your number changed which we can also do for you.

Cheers,

Corey C

[goslow]

IMHO, a number change is a measure of last resort when all else has failed. Probably best used when the nuisance calls are coming from a known caller that the VM customer wants to break contact with such as former friend, family member, ex-partner etc.

The automated diallers will eventually start calling any new number allocated once it comes into use. Plus any new number allocated may have its own past history of nuisance calls. Could end up being a case of moving from frying pan to fire!

[bigguy283]

many thanks to you all for your help. I will avoid answering calls from 065 numbers, lucky for me , you have helped ease my mind a little, i feel very sorry for other elderly people who unlike me have nobody to help them with this very scary and worrying problem!, i just wish the telephone companys or even governments could stop this problem at source. This is 2021 and must have technology to prevent this.
Thanks again.

[nodrogd]

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@bigguy283 wrote:
many thanks to you all for your help. I will avoid answering calls from 065 numbers, lucky for me , you have helped ease my mind a little, i feel very sorry for other elderly people who unlike me have nobody to help them with this very scary and worrying problem!, i just wish the telephone companys or even governments could stop this problem at source. This is 2021 and must have technology to prevent this.
Thanks again.

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There is, but it won't work on our existing 150 year old telephone network. Until this is replaced in 2025 with the decommissioning of every telephone exchange in the country & every customer has been migrated via internet hubs onto internet VoIP technology, end-to-end verification can then become a reality.

[activistfangirl]

Like you I have been getting calls from the 065 numbers for 24 hours now.

The numbers so far are: 06579375734, 06584939650, 06529013246, 06568749069, 06508287497, 06599539688 and 06589707140.

Now these are the numbers I get random calls from in the last 24 hours so there may be more to add.

They call, never leave a message and hang up.

I am also registered with the Telephone Preference Service and it hasn't stopped these spam calls at all.

I would have thought that with all the money we pay to Virgin Media for their services that their tech departments would be on top of all the spam and nuisance calls we get on our Virgin home phones (and Virgin mobile phones).