Is this phonecall genuine?

[j-wilkes]

We have just had four phonecalls in ten minutes from a lady from the virgin media security department, my dad has recorded the number [MOD EDIT: Removed] from a previous occasion, now it is withheld number. She is saying there are odd messages coming from our router. I do not think this is genuine. Can someone confirm anything for me please? I am normally at work and my parents are not massively tech savvy so I am trying to protect them too.

Many thanks 

[用心棒]

No it is a fraudulent call, read more here  How to deal with fraudulent calls

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[Graham_A]

Definitely a scam attempt. Virgin Media do not make such calls.  The best advice is not to engage with such callers.

[Zach_R · Accepted solution]

Hi @j-wilkes,

Thank you for your post. That's not the kind of call that we would make, and we'd only ever reach out about technical issues if it was for a pre-agreed call back you've discussed with the team. That's also not a number that I recognise, so I don't believe it to be us.

If you haven't done so already, I'd advise signing up to the Telephone Preference Service to help minimise any unwanted scam calls. You can also find some further information here.
 

If you receive them on your Virgin Media landline, there's more information here.

Thanks,
 

[nodrogd]

I have asked for the number quoted to be removed, as it has been cloned from a genuine company operating in London that has nothing to do with the scammers.

[coenoby]

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@Zach_R wrote:

Hi @j-wilkes,
If you haven't done so already, I'd advise signing up to the Telephone Preference Service to help minimise any unwanted scam calls.
 

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Signing up to TPS is definitely a wise move but no-one should be under the illusion that it will stop or even deter scammers.

TPS manages a simple ‘Do Not Call’ register that legal UK companies have to check before they make unsolicited sales calls or they risk getting fined,

However, scammers are criminals who have no regard for such legal niceties. Putting up a "Trespasses will be prosecuted" sign in your garden is not going to stop burglars from breaking into your house and that is all TPS is to a scammer, if they even know TPS exists.

TPS stops unsolicited marketing calls from genuine UK companies and that is a good thing.

You can check out the information on the Citizens Advice page citizensadvice.org.uk advice on stopping nuisance calls and texts  

You will see there that CA specifically says:

"Registering (with TPS) won’t stop automated marketing calls, also known as ‘computer generated calls’. This is because the law only applies to people not computers."

and also:

"Registering with TPS also won’t stop calls from scammers."

Sign up to TPS by all means but understand its limitations.

Coenoby

[HughJarsse]

TPS is a toothless sop to the government.

It does nothing even when multiple consumers complain about a number. 

We are TPS registered, but repeatedly bombarded by calls from companies, (humans on the other end of the line, making unsolicited calls) and when reported to TPS, they do nothing. Best bet is to report the numbers to the ICO  (Information Commissioners Office)    https://ico.org.uk/

They WILL take action against companies if enough complaints are logged. And, they have the power to impose fines and close down rogue companies. 

[Richard1959]

I had one of these scam calls on Saturday supposedly from Virgin Media saying that my router had been compromised and was being hacked.

I managed to keep her on the phone for quite a while pretending I was doing what she was asking me to do but after about the 10th time that I "Accidently" made a mistake over the website address she was trying to get me to log into she must have twigged I was winding her up and put the phone down on me.

No patience some of these scammers LOL

[coenoby]

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@Richard1959 wrote:

I managed to keep her on the phone for quite a while pretending I was doing what she was asking me to do but after about the 10th time that I "Accidently" made a mistake over the website address she was trying to get me to log into she must have twigged I was winding her up and put the phone down on me.

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I am sure that you felt better after that but don't be under the illusion that you have "got one over" on them.

Sadly just by picking up the phone and answering the call your number will have been marked as being live and in use. The simplest way to get round that is to let any calls from numbers you don't recognise go to an answer-phone but I know that's not always convenient.

In all probability the person you were talking to was basically a call centre operator employed by, or part of, the scammer's operation.  As such they will be quite used to getting the treatment they got from you and will not be off by it. Your number will just have been flagged to indicate that someone on your number was willing to listen and engage with them.

That means that your number is now a valuable commodity to scammers, Why?

Scammers are like anglers casting their line out into the water and seeing what takes the bait.  When a big fish tugs the line but wriggles off the hook the true angler does not give up and try somewhere-else. Once they know there is a big fish around which is willing to take the bait they are going to keep trying to catch it.

Scammers are just the same and they will keep calling you in the hope they can eventually catch you, or one of your family, off guard and reel you in. Of course next time it could be a different scam so keep your ears peeled for that. 😉

Also, scammers make money selling numbers like yours on to other scammers so you may well have helped the scammer anyway.  If that has happened  the volume of scam calls you get may well multiply.

The best advice with scam calls is to simply end the call and put the phone down. I can understand that seems a bit boring but in the long run it is the best way to cut done on the number of incoming scam calls you receive,

Coenoby

[DinoParry]

I used to string them along too knowing that it isn't me paying for the call.  Now whenever I get a call from an unknown/withheld number (or it is obvious that the caller is several continents away) I just tell them there is nobody here of that name and that they have a wrong number...