https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/advice-for-consumers-scam-calls-pretending-to-be-from-ofcom

Be warned that this scam is still doing the rounds. I got one of these automated calls this morning. I make it a rule to treat all such calls as suspicious so I just put the phone down. If you get one, I strongly urge you to do the same.

Stay safe!

Chris

We still get about one per day from "Microsoft".

Quote from: Thorpe Parva on July 19, 2019, 05:12:04 PM
We still get about one per day from "Microsoft".

I find a bit of advice goes down well. 

I inform them of their mothers dubious sexual history and their personal lack of knowledge of who their father is. 

If I get a tirade of abuse back I know I have hit the mark. 

That doesn't tend to have much effect with the automated ones though...!

I still get called on a fairly regular basis by someone purporting to be from TalkTalk. I usually say something like "This is a private ex-directory number. Where did you obtain this number from, please?" There's usually a moment's stunned silence then the line goes dead.

My Dad used to deal with nuisance calls by quietly putting the phone down somewhere and let them keep on talking, on the basis that they are paying for the call. You can actually have quite a lot of fun with cold callers so long as you are careful. 

Cheers,

Chris

I let Alexa deal with them 

Had a new one the other day who claimed to be a "local conservation officer".

When asked for which organisation the line went dead.

Did a 1471 and got a mobile number.

 I am usually on my own every day and I have great fun winding up cold callers and scammers .
My favourite one was a well known double glazing firm who told me they were in the area and could do a special deal ,I told them I had just moved and the property was in need of renovation to which they then said they could also do guttering and soffits ,new doors and porches ,and a really good deal on conservatories .I told them that sounds really interesting as I've allways  wanted a conservatory .I asked them if they done all the preparation work for the conservatory they said they did the whole thing ,so I asked them if they would provide the R S J s for the conservatory ,they sounded very puzzled and asked me why would they need R S Js so I then told them that I lived on the seventh floor of a block of flats ,their tone of voice change dramatically and I wont repeat what he said before he hung up on me .I only asked a reasonable question I thought .
By the way I don't really live in a block of flats just a normal semi .
I just thought I would waste his time as I had nothing to do that morning .
I love winding them up even the Microsoft engineers who tell me I have a virus  and they can fix it for me .I keep on talking to them and then ask them how they know I have a virus on my IPad as I don't have Microsoft on it .
And the number of times our internet and phone is going to be cut off .I told the last one to go ahead and then I wouldn't get anymore anoying phone calls from scammers like him .
Even H M R C who told me the Bailiffs were coming round to claim goods for the taxes I hadn't paid .
It's allso very funny how they all have very English names but foreign accents .
Bob Tidbury

If I get a call from an unknown number, I sometimes answer, "Hello caller on line 3, you are live on air".

I get loads about the accident I had

I tell them it must have been a bad accident as it has badly affected my memory

If I can't remember having the accident what else have I forgotten, do I have any children, am I married, are these my own teeth, is the body in the freezer realy my wife or some random woman if I was not married.

For some reason Indian Sarah always hangs up.

Paul

Quote from: Bob Tidbury on July 19, 2019, 06:49:45 PM
,and a really good deal on conservatories .I told them that sounds really interesting as I've allways  wanted a conservatory .I asked them if they done all the preparation work for the conservatory they said they did the whole thing ,so I asked them if they would provide the R S J s for the conservatory ,they sounded very puzzled and asked me why would they need R S Js so I then told them that I lived on the seventh floor of a block of flats

I did that once - but I didn't tell them that I lived in a flat. It was even more amusing watching a car pull up, a guy getting out of it and looking around for the address, stomping back to the car and rapidly driving off   


One of the best I had was "Microsoft Technical Support" telling me that there was a problem with my computer but that they were having trouble uploading the necessary update to it.
"Ah, " I said, "that'll be because of my firewall."
"Oh, " they said, "What's a firewall?"
I advised them to got another job to which their abilities were obviously better suited, like sewer polishing.


I did have one that I strung along for quite some time by asking "Which computer?", to be told that it was the one running Windows 7. "OK, which one?", etc., etc. At that time I had three running, two of mine and one for work.
After a bit of this I suggested that he tell me the IP address to help me identify which one.
"Oh, they'll all be on the same address."
"No they aren't." I told him.
"You mean you have more than one internet connection?"
"Yep, so you tell me the IP address which is the one with the problem and that'll help me narrow down which computer it is."
After a brief pause, "I can't do that, it's against the Data Protection Act."
At which point I cast various aspersions about their parenthood and hung up.

My funniest:

In Poshest Mumbai accent: "Good morning sir, Our records show you were the victim of a FATAL accident..."   

A good response is...

Its done... but there's blood everywhere.

I have a BT phone system with Call Guardian. All this is now a thing of the past. No nuisance calls at all, they can't/don't get past the automated service which requires they speak their name and press the hash tag before the phone even rings for me to answer, where upon I can choose to speak to them, or block the number. Bliss.

Izzy

I have a sneaking suspicion we've been down this road before 

It's odd how I always get these calls a day or two after I have had a real interaction with the company / organisation claiming to be calling, for the BT, HMRC and Microsoft ones, anyway. Someone inside, leaking information perhaps?