# Abusive phone calls



## Pollydoodle (Aug 18, 2005)

My neighbour and 2 of her friends have received abusive/racist phone calls and I wondered if anyone else has recieved one.

Each has been rung by a man with an asian accent, I dont know what they were 'selling' but my friend told him she was on the telephone calling preference list and 'I know you have a job to do, but you shouldnt be calling me' He then proceeded to call her a middle class effing white bitch, at which point she hung up. The other 2 calls were along the same lines. 
Not good, as they probably were 'caller number withheld' or came from overseas and cant be traced.

Not very nice to get one though


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## chilly (Apr 20, 2007)

I find the scammers who claim to be from microsoft (India branch) get very abusive.
To be fair it's usually after about ten minutes of me winding them up and stringing them along>:laugh:


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Yes, wind 'em up Sheila, that's the best way to deal with them.

Often the preference service won't work because they just dial random numbers.

If you tell them to hang on while you get the boss from the garden then put your phone down but don't hang up, that usually gets to them. They can't use that line again until you put the phone down. :wink2:

If you can put the phone down next to the radio playing some classical music (or punk rock) even better.

Eventually the word will get around and they might stop wasting their time on you.


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

We got one of these - well, four actually.

It works!!

http://www.shop.bt.com/learnmore/bt-branded-products-and-services/the-new-bt8500/

Dave


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## randonneur (Jan 25, 2007)

How do you go on when it is the Doctor, Hospital or District Nurse calling as their numbers are withheld. We are looking for new phones at the moment but have got to think of the above.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

gaspode said:


> They can't use that line again until you put the phone down. :wink2:.


I think that is now to be changed as a direct result of scam calls where it was supposedly the police ringing you about a fraudulent transaction about to occur on your bank account and that they were tracing it.

They asked you to put the phone down and then ring the bank number, who then asked you to confirm all of the details on that account including the 3 number from the back - all the details required for fraud BUT that had simply reconnected to the original incoming caller as they had not cut off the call - until VERY recently the caller was in control of the call not the recipient.....

I heard/read somewhere on the BBC that this is now being changed so that the incoming call cuts off if you have put the phone down for a period of, I think, 5 minutes...

https://www.herts.police.uk/advice/...lder_people/scam_police_and_bank_callers.aspx

suggests that you try ringing a friend or your mobile before ringing the bank

BUT I cannot find any link to the change in cutting off..... maybe others will have heard / read the same thing..... or maybe it is my memory playing up....

FOUND IT.....

the 5 minute cut off is mentioned in this BT page;

http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/money/...cam-is-now-costing-us-millions-11363988370722
_
If you feel something is suspicious, hang up, *wait five minutes to clear the line*, or where possible use a different phone line to call your bank or card issuer on their advertised number._

Anyone else?

Dave


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

I only have a Polish number mobile - maybe not many scammers speak Polish, as I get no calls:wink2::laugh:


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## emmbeedee (Oct 31, 2008)

randonneur said:


> How do you go on when it is the Doctor, Hospital or District Nurse calling as their numbers are withheld. We are looking for new phones at the moment but have got to think of the above.


We have a pair of Panasonic phones with Caller Display. They are similar to those that Zeb has posted above but not so elaborate, but nevertheless our setup works really well for us.
The downstairs phone is in the lounge right next to OH's armchair. Calls from anyone on our caller list are displayed & she picks up. Others come up as *Withheld", "Out of Area", "International", etc. or a phone number. These are not answered & after two rings go on to the ansafone. If its a genuine call (Doctor, Dentist, etc.) they start to leave a message & OH picks up. Others usually hang up as soon as they hear the ansafone. If they do happen to leave a message (very rare) we can choose whether to call back or not.
Works well for us, actually the best system we've had. We are XD & TPS as well but that doesn't stop them all.


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

randonneur said:


> How do you go on when it is the Doctor, Hospital or District Nurse calling as their numbers are withheld. We are looking for new phones at the moment but have got to think of the above.


Professionals are used to new technology because it is becoming commonplace, and everyone around here seems aware of BT's "Call Guardian" and how it works.

I posted this last year and it tells you a little of how it operates:
http://forums.motorhomefacts.com/26...en-apps-want-contact-details.html#post1803242

It's very good and we still have received no nuisance calls. Not one!

.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

All my calls are abusive, I need help  

We got the BT phone about 6 months ago, no annoying calls since then.


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## blondel (Jun 12, 2005)

randonneur said:


> How do you go on when it is the Doctor, Hospital or District Nurse calling as their numbers are withheld. We are looking for new phones at the moment but have got to think of the above.


We find that the UNKNOWN numbers are from scammers and the WITHHELD are from the medical services so get answered!


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Of course the easiest thing to do is just not answer it or leave it on answerphone. Most people I want to speak to would ring my mobile anyway.


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## Leffe NL (Jul 14, 2015)

chilly said:


> I find the scammers who claim to be from microsoft (India branch) get very abusive.
> To be fair it's usually after about ten minutes of me winding them up and stringing them along>:laugh:


I get that a lot, here are some of my responses thus far:

1. I tell them I'm very concerned, play along for a while before asking how a Microsoft problem can affect my Linux machines.

2. Ask them if they believe in god, if yes, ask them what they think their god thinks of them lying and deceiving people.

Once they actually called me back with a supervisor, who told me that they would cut off my internet, the conversation became beyond absurd:

Indian Supervisor: I'll do it, I'll cut your internet off.
Me: Do it!
Indian Supervisor: I'll do it, I'll cut your internet off.
Me: Do it!
Indian Supervisor: I'll do it, I'll cut your internet off.
Me: Do it!
Indian Supervisor: I'll do it, I'll cut your internet off.
Me: Admit it, you can't! You can't cut my internet off!
Indian Supervisor: I'm sending high frequencies to your computer now!
Me: High frequencies? It's a digital signal!
Indian Supervisor: They're sending now, your computer will go ka-boom!
Me: Ka-boom?
Indian Supervisor: Ka-boom!
Me: KA-BOOOOOOOOM!!!! (Laughing)
Indian Supervisor: (Laughing, phone on speaker at his end, people around him laughing)

This conversation actually happened, you couldn't make it up, it was insane!


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## Leffe NL (Jul 14, 2015)

I went through a phase of picking up the phone but not saying anything, I figured that if someone's calling me, they should speak first. It really freaks people out, which proved to be bad with my 77 y/o mum. When at last one of us spoke (after she called, no one spoke, then she hung up and called again), she said that she had stated doing the same thing.

Also a word of warning. If you are receiving these calls it means that you are on a database of people to call. They can have your phone no, name, address and other personal data. If you divulge any information about yourself, it gets added to the database, making your data more valuable. The databases are a commodity in themselves and bought and sold around the world.


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

a couple of ploys I use

1. leave the phone an answerphone. scam callers never leave a message - genuine callers will.

2. if I do pick up a call and the caller is clearly a scammer and asks to speak to Mr or Mrs FB I usually reply "sorry you can't I'm afraid as they have just died". you can "feel" the silence at the far end before the line (usually) cuts off. 

I had a call from a "Microsoft Engineer" yesterday, but sadly didn't have time to play them along so just cut the call. shame as that's usually a good laugh.


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