Missed calls from our landline but no calls made

[Andyjenk3]

We have had 3 calls in 3 days from people who say they missed a call from our number. One actually read out the number he had - which was ours! We have not made any calls at all! Any suggestions?

[goslow]

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@Andyjenk3 wrote:

So it probably is due to VMs data breach. Thank you VM for the harassment you've caused.

I still do not see WHY?

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Hopefully the reason turns out to be as explained by @Hayley_S, namely a crossed line.

The reason the scammers use real numbers for fake caller ID is to add an appearance of authenticity to their calls even before the recipient has picked up the phone. When they use random numbers as the caller ID, it is quite obvious the number is fake before even picking up so the recipient will either ignore the call or be wary of a scam. The fake caller IDs (based on real numbers belonging to innocent parties) look genuine on the caller ID display and may even be tailored to show the same local area code as the victim being called.

A sub-division of the scamming industry is to autodial lists of numbers simply to find out which are working and which not. The working number lists are then sold on to scammers for them to place their scam calls. If you have answered or engaged in a call with a scammer in the past your number might also have been logged for future (ab)use.

[Andyjenk3]

So who is being scammed here, me or the callers? How do the scammers profit from someone calling a legitimate phone number? Sounds more like a crossed line to me as I cannot see what the profit motive is.

[Hayley_S]

As previously stated we will not know until the engineer has been @Andyjenk3.

Once this appointment is complete we can go from there, but until then there is nothing we can say or do that will change the fact that these calls have been coming through.

I am deeply sorry for the stress this has caused you, but we have a plan in place now.

Many thanks,

[goslow]

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@Andyjenk3 wrote:

So who is being scammed here, me or the callers? How do the scammers profit from someone calling a legitimate phone number? Sounds more like a crossed line to me as I cannot see what the profit motive is.

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With any luck, it will turn out to be a crossed line. If your issue turns out to be a crossed line, then hopefully that can be resolved by a VM tech visit. If not, and for future info, .....

Scammers call vast quantities of telephone numbers using automatic dialling equipment and software. Their aim is to convince those that they call that they have a 'problem' of some kind (the scam varies and might include fake tech support calls, fake refund scams etc.)

If the scammer is successful, and convinces the victim that they do have a 'problem', then the scammers' 'fix' for the problem is to offer to remotely access the victim's device using remote access software. Having done that, they will then seek to gain access to the victim's online banking or seek to steal personal information for future identity theft or they may lock the victim's device and demand a ransom to unlock it. Those are the profit motives for the scammers. When the scammers are successful, they can potentially steal many thousands of pounds from their victims.

The matter of fake caller ID is only incidental in the process to add authenticity to the scam call. If your number has been used as a fake caller ID, then the people calling you have received a scam call of some kind above and have called the number back from their caller ID, thinking they will be calling the scammers back.

This booklet from the Met Police describes many different kinds of telephone scam in detail.

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

Hopefully the explanation turns out to be a crossed line which can be fixed for you by the VM tech visit.

[Andyjenk3]

Hi Hayley,

I think posts may have been crossed (as well as lines 😁). My comment was not directed at you. Thank you for your help and I look forward to the engineer's visit. I meant no disrespect or criticism of you.

[coenoby]

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@Andyjenk3 wrote:

How do the scammers profit from someone calling a legitimate phone number? Sounds more like a crossed line to me as I cannot see what the profit motive is.

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The scammers are not scamming you but they are using you number to scam others.  The problem is that many people do not realise that scammers always spoof their number. As a result victims or their family members often call back the spoofed number (such as yours) thinking they are contacting the scammer.

As a result many innocent people suffer abusive calls from people who take the opportunity to vent their feelings on the person they think is responsible for the scam. So you are not the scammers' target but you could be collateral damage as a result of their calls.

Here's an earlier example from this forum https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Home-Phone/My-telephone-number-used-in-a-scam-call/td-p/4464005 

I hope it is a crossed line because believe me getting calls from  people who think you are a scammer is no joke. Not every one is prepared to accept that you are not at fault.

BTW The offficial Ofcom website includes spreadsheets which detail the landline phone numbers allocated to each Communication Provider (BT VM etc ) for each area code in the UK.

This does contain any personal information, or even show whether a number is in use or not. However, it is raw data like this that scammers use to generate their scam calls and to identify genuine numbers they can spoof to make their calls appear to be legitimate calls from the UK.

I hope that all makes sense.

Coenoby

[Graham_A]

@coenoby  You missed out a 'not' in the first line of the penultimate paragraph.  "This does not contain any personal information"

[nodrogd]

If it was a crossed line, the OPs number would have changed. The OP as far as I can tell still has their correct number, so it is the callers that are calling an incorrect or cloned number. Don’t see how a tech visit can resolve anything here.

[Andyjenk3]

Yes, we are still getting calls from family and friends. If it stops I will cancel the visit. Thanks for your help.

[Lee_R]

Hi @Andyjenk3

Whereas I am certain @nodrogd is correct.  A tech visit would remove all doubt.  Another sign of a potential crossed line, is hearing other conversations on your line.  Is this something you've noticed?

Regards

Lee_R