Have you been called by a ‘BT technical support’ phone scam?

Nice one Katie. I usually assume that callers want something from me – and I’m not often wrong. Some of the exceptions seem to be trying to contact a mysterious “Mr Watson”…

Most people have a dynamic rather than fixed IP address. Mine rarely changes these days and it’s committed to memory. An IP address is no great secret, so I would not trust anyone who quoted it correctly in a phone call, but if they got it wrong then that’s a good indication that they are up to no good.

I also just got one and reported it here: https://who-called.co.uk/Number/01288767681
It is always worth reporting to inform other people and I see I forgot to say it was a scam! 🙄

Looks like Bude is the latest small area with lots of spare telephone numbers for scammers to use.

Wargol, these scammers usually fake their caller display numbers to make it look like they’re calling from within the UK.

In reality, the majority of these scammers seem to be based in India where they are organised crime on an industrial scale.

There was a cold caller from Bude
Who phoned and was quite rude
I said I can’t talk to you
I’ve much else to do
Such as shopping online for food.

Thanks very much for sharing your experience.

Sorry to hear that you had to have your PC wiped, but good to hear that the scammers didn’t get any money out of you.

I just found some remove access software already installed on a second hand Windows 10 PC that I acquired a few days ago. So, to be on the safe side, I’ve wiped the disc and re-installed Windows 10 from scratch.

Re-installing Windows is a chore, but luckily I already had a W10 install DVD-ROM that I could use.

I agree that, when scammers call, putting the phone down is the easiest way to prevent any harm.

Les, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to stop 100% of all scams.

As any cuckoo might tell you, scamming is an activity pre-ordained by nature.

That said, as regards nuisance calls, the scammers numbers can be blocked. If you’re with BT you can subscribe to their call protect facilities. Some other providers, e.g. PlusNet, also offer similar services.

But, because these scammers use fake numbers, as any given fake number is blocked, they can easily switch to a new one. (Earlier this week, I had a scam call from 01256 398451 – it had already been red flagged on the “who called me from” website. BT customers can also report such numbers to BT for blocking.)

A further line of defence can be provided by call screening phones, which effectively sentence all calls from unknown numbers to answerphone or other verification, whilst allowing the phone to ring when bona-fide calls are received.

But even with those measures, some scam calls will still get through.

Nuisance calls are definitely on the up again. I went from several a day to several a month now they are back to several a day again. The last week has been particularly bad with:
– internet address compromised in some foreign country (recording press 1 to speak to someone),
– HMRC threatening legal action (recording press 1 to speak to someone),
– washing machine insurance (companies with different names calling)
– shares scam
– missed call from green energy

Here’s a thought………. Why can’t all telephone numbers be blocked from using telephone networks unless they are being paid for? 🤔

alfa – blocking all invalid numbers at the exchange would be a great idea. I’m sure it’s a great response to the problem of scam calls.

Scams will appear from other sources too, but, even so, blocking phone calls at the exchange is still a great idea.

After a very brief scam call two days ago, when I asked them to phone back later, I had been looking forward to further rounds of the “cheese shop” game, before finally perhaps letting the scammers loose on a “tethered goat” virtual machine.

My understanding is that the number of nuisance calls has dropped considerably in recent years, and I have only had one nuisance call on my landline number since Christmas, though there may have been others when I was out. Five years ago I was receiving several calls most days. My number is in the phone book and websites, with the intention of helping people make contact. That might not be advisable, yet I no longer have a problem, whereas some like Alfa are still being hassled.

Until recently, I would have agreed with you wavechange, but they are definitely on the up again. The 2 recorded messages were on my mobile, the other 3 on the landline.

They never phone when you want them to Derek. After several HMRC calls, I set up my other phone to record the call, but they didn’t call while it was set up. You have to be quick as they don’t let the phone ring for long before disconnecting. I was going to send the HMRC one to Which? as it is more realistic than the examples they have on their website.

Hi alfa, in my case, they may have opted to “bug out” because I mention I was using a Linux computer when they asked me to go to my “Windows device”. If so, then great.

If not, then I can wait. I’ve got plenty of other projects to keep myself occupied with just now.

Almost right on que, I just recieved a “BT internet disconnection scam” call from

001 038 868 065 94

That’s (masquerading as) a USA number, according to who-called.co.uk

This time, I was again busy with real life, so I didn’t have time to interact with that call.

I just also heard that a non-internet using cousin of my friends nearly got caught by some non internet based refund type scam. I only have garbled details so far, but its seems the victim was tasked to go to their bank, take out cash and then spend it on Microsoft X-box vouchers. Fortunately, I believe they smelt a rat at that point and bugged out. Presumably they would have been asked to transmit the vouchers or their codes to the scammers.