www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59032795
The article does explain why it has taken so long to do something about this, but I'm still appalled at the delay. Also, it doesn't manage to convince me that the measures to be taken will work.
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I thought I'd previously understood that this wasn't possible on our old PSTN phone technology but would become possible once the phone companies moved to internet calling. No idea where I got that though (here maybe?).
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It's been tricky in the past, but in theory the UK isp's can block incoming VOIP, from out of UK nets carrying UK phone number headers. However they only need someone in the UK to host or join a VPN to India say, and the VOIP then breaks into the UK with its fake UK number
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Doubt if anyone here is suffering from this and not done anything about it, but as ever, just in case.
Our ex-directory number leaked somehow about a year ago - we got many many many calls suddenly coming in.
Bought this, 100% stopped. Done.
smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002GP7HQM
Having said that, mother in law had same problem, bought her one, but half the time she still answers it "just in case", so you have to be prepared to set it up properly and let it do its thing.
No, we can't get rid of the landline.
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How does it work? Do you tell it what numbers are OK and it bars the rest? Or does it have a look-up on the internet of good and bad?
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How about we just used common sense and terminated the call when someone with dubious credentials rings up says he is from BT and can he speak to Mr Duncan? The phone goes down normally without me saying a word.
Why not just do that?
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>> How does it work? Do you tell it what numbers are OK and it bars
>> the rest? Or does it have a look-up on the internet of good and bad?
It's hard to summarise here, because there are a gazillion things it can do. but in brief, yes, it knows about some numbers already, and that list grows as the community add known spam numbers. Then you add your own in one of many ways of your choice.
What I do is have what they call a star list - people I always want to talk to. For them and me, it's just a normal process of them ringing and me answering.
I also have what they call a zap list - those are numbers that I never want to talk to. They get a message saying I don't want to talk to them, go away, and then it hangs up.
I have one more aggressive than that. I had a whole load of calls from Bournemouth, always a different number but always Bournemouth, trying to sell me loft insulation. Well known if you google it. For that, I have a wildcard that says "if it's from the Bournemouth area code then play the unobtainable tone". Luckily I know nobody in Bournemouth.
And for all the in-between ones, neither zapped nor starred, they get a message (without my phone ringing) that asks them their name. My phone then rings and plays back their name and asks me if I want to take the call. At that point I can do so, or not, and/or add them to my star or zap list for future calls.
There's even more finegrained control over all this stuff, including different responses day or night for example, but you get the idea.
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>> It's hard to summarise here,........
So he didn't even try.
>> for example, but you get the idea.
What on earth do you get up to?
I never get a sufficient number of calls to warrant anything remotely like this!
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>>
>> >> It's hard to summarise here,........
>>
>> So he didn't even try.
>>
I tried. It could have gone on a lot longer.
>> I never get a sufficient number of calls to warrant anything remotely like this!
And I never have the slightest urge to go to Wetherspoons, so I can't begin to imagine anyone else would.
I'll add a smiley in case you misread my tone. :)
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I was getting dozens of scam calls and bought a new Panasonic phone that blocks calls. None now get through, but the 'phone lists all calls. I got three yesterday that were blocked. One of the best buys I have made.
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>> None now get through, but the 'phone lists all calls. I got three
>> yesterday that were blocked. One of the best buys I have made.
Yes indeed. I had fourteen Bournemouth calls in one week (and two or three "this is Microsoft" type ones as well) which prompted the purchase of kit to help.
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Sounds a decent bit of kit. I don't really get enough to justify the cost but would consider it if I did.
I have thought about doing away with the landline. We never ever call out on it and once in a while one of my daughters or my sis will cal on it. But Virgin said as it's part of a package, the package cost would go up if I removed it.
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"Major phone networks have agreed to automatically block almost all internet calls coming from abroad if they pretend to be from UK numbers, Ofcom has confirmed.
I think that will block calls from me to my parents. I use a local service which shows my number on my parents caller id, but I am certainly not calling them direct.
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To be clear, I sometimes use my UK number to make the call.
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>> "Major phone networks have agreed to automatically block almost all internet calls coming from abroad
>> if they pretend to be from UK numbers, Ofcom has confirmed.
>>
>> I think that will block calls from me to my parents. I use a local
>> service which shows my number on my parents caller id, but I am certainly not
>> calling them direct.
I suppose we won't know for sure until it's up and working but I think the target is calls from abroad 'spoofing' UK geographic or non geographic (ie 0800 etc) numbers.
Personally, if I get a call from an unknown UK number, answer with a business like verging on brusque Simon Bromptonaut - it deters a fair number of chancers.
I accept the risk that a cold call now has my name but I'm not too bothered; they can find it other places.
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I've found that since agreeing to do the ONS covid survey, I'm getting an increased number of, erm, salacious emails. Not that I'm worried, I just block them.
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That’s interesting.
About 2 or 3 weeks ago, I was suddenly inundated with spam messages to my inbox (virgin email). All the sort of McAfee type warnings that usually go straight to spam. I assumed it was just Virgin filters not working.
But now that you mention it, around that time I had agreed to get my ONS results by email instead of the letters that we had up till then.
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Foreign scam calls - smokie
