Scam Calls?

[DebJon]

In less than 24 hours we have received 3 calls to our landline, supposedly from VM, saying that our internet has been 'hacked' and we need to download protection. All calls are ended when we ask for proof that they are in fact from VM; all calls are from mobile numbers.

I'm concerned as we have recently been transferred to VOIP; could this have made our number/landline vulnerable in anyway? TIA

[用心棒]

More likely to coincidental that anything nefarious.

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[VMUser1812]

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@DebJon wrote:

In less than 24 hours we have received 3 calls to our landline, supposedly from VM, saying that our internet has been 'hacked' and we need to download protection. All calls are ended when we ask for proof that they are in fact from VM; all calls are from mobile numbers.

I'm concerned as we have recently been transferred to VOIP; could this have made our number/landline vulnerable in anyway? TIA

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Your number or landline is absolutely no more or less vulnerable. Imagine that I had a setup which systematically dialled every number in order starting at 00-000-0000, eventually, I’m going to hit your number, yes?

This, basically is how these scam companies work, they have a big bank of employees (probably on whatever passes for minimum wage in that part of the world, but with bonuses for successfully reeling someone in), and a system which literally dials all the numbers possible in turn, until someone answers and they are transferred to an ‘agent’ who starts the conversation, your router has been ‘hacked by many countries’, always makes me smile!

But no, this happens to lots of people every single day, that it happens to you soon after the transfer to 21CV is purely a coincidence. 

[goslow · Accepted solution]

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@DebJon wrote:

In less than 24 hours we have received 3 calls to our landline, supposedly from VM, saying that our internet has been 'hacked' and we need to download protection. All calls are ended when we ask for proof that they are in fact from VM; all calls are from mobile numbers.

I'm concerned as we have recently been transferred to VOIP; could this have made our number/landline vulnerable in anyway? TIA

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When I had a VM landline, I found the pattern of scam calls varied between periods of intense calling (typically 3 or 4 calls per day) followed by relative periods of quiet (1 or 2 calls per week).

I used a trueCall device on the line for the last 18 months of my landline connection and it 100% eliminated the scam calls

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

[nodrogd]

I have had a second line with Vonage, a VoIP provider, for over 2 years & I still get these calls. At the moment it does not matter the technology that you use. Landlines in this country have to work to the lowest common denominator as far as security is concerned, & that is the dated PSTN exchange. When these are retired in 2025 we can all start using VoIP as standard & end-to-end verification of calls will be the norm.