On wednesday my wife received the new mobile phone I bought her.The number is known only to the phone company,my wife and me.
I was surprised,this morning,to receive the first scam call dialled to this number.Randomly selected by computer I daresay but bloody hell.
As it happens the call was from a parcel company wanting to charge me for a failed delivery.
New mobile numbers are issued/allocated in blocks. It’s dead easy for anyone with an interest or involvement in such things to identify the ranges currently being issued and target their scam messages accordingly.
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Gidders:
On wednesday my wife received the new mobile phone I bought her.The number is known only to the phone company,my wife and me.
I was surprised,this morning,to receive the first scam call dialled to this number.Randomly selected by computer I daresay but bloody hell.
As it happens the call was from a parcel company wanting to charge me for a failed delivery.
Come and collect it in cash mate and see what happens.
The same happened with me! I got a new mobile phone & number two months ago & within a week I was getting messages supposedly from virgin media regarding “missed payments” 
You should be on extra high alert if you receive a text purporting to be from a parcel company seeking payment of a couple of quid for delivery charges. This is only Stage One of the scam.
In Stage Two (typically a day or two later) you may receive a call purporting to be from your bank’s fraud department or the police. The gist of this message will be that unauthorised log-ins have been detected on your account. As part of the story they will ask if you have received a message as outlined at Stage One. This whole act is designed to draw you in, as yes, you did indeed get such a message. Naturally you are now worried. The carefully scripted conversation will either get you to transfer the contents of your account(s) into a special new “safe” account or may simply get you to reveal your log-in details or debit/credit card numbers so they can do it for you.
Either way, Stage Three is when they clean out your account(s) or max-out your credit card to buy eg Amazon gift cards or somesuch.
aff.419eater.com/ is the website to visit if you have some time to kill and enjoy reading about scam scum getting a taste of their own back.
Thanks for any info and advice.Most calls are recordings so I can delete them.Those that involve speaking to another person directly provide hours of entertainment when I’m otherwise bored.I consider it a bonus if I can get the caller angry enough to slam the phone down.
It’s the 2 days after the number was issued that surprised me.It would be interesting to track down a culprit.
I get a couple of these scam call per week as it happens. Invariably from abroad with a fake Uk number. My latest way of dealing with it is if it’s a female calling I ask her what she’s wearing, I then say “don’t stop talking, I’m nearly there” followed up by some heavy breathing. If it’s a male caller, we’ll pretty much the same actually 
One of the ways I deal with these callers is to say that I’m really interested in what they have to say, but tell them I’m just on my way into work. I ask them to give me a call “in about an hour” on my works number - which just happens to be either the Serious Fraud Office, or my local Police Headquarters. I don’t know whether they actually do ring either of those numbers, but they do seem to stop calling me.
Oh, and I haven’t had a road accident, my washing machine warranty hasn’t run out, my internet connection won’t be shut down and I haven’t ordered anything from Amazon Prime…
Gidders:
It’s the 2 days after the number was issued that surprised me.It would be interesting to track down a culprit.
The calls probably started weeks earlier - but until the number had actually been allocated nobody heard them…
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When they call, blow a whistle as loud as you can or say you are going to fetch something from the other room and never come back to leave them hanging on to a phone call with nobody there .
Mate got the “involved in an accident” call.His reply was is that the one when I was heavily under the influence of alcohol and drugs 
.Caller hung up 
cheers Ray
stargazer148:
Mate got the “involved in an accident” call.His reply was is that the one when I was heavily under the influence of alcohol and drugs
Or “it must have been the one that caused this amnesia, I don’t even remember having the accident”.
Nice one fodenway another “accident” one was yes I have had an accident… I just ■■■■ myself cheers Ray
Tarmaceater:
When they call, blow a whistle as loud as you can or say you are going to fetch something from the other room and never come back to leave them hanging on to a phone call with nobody there .
Blowing a whistle etc achieves SQR(FA) as the public phone network simply will not reproduce the loud noise at the other end. Stringing them along by feigning interest/giving false information/pretending to be taken in by their scam can be satisfying (plus of course it occupies a few minutes of their time, thus (slightly) reducing the chances of some vulnerable old dear being scammed). Likewise leaving them hanging on while you fetch something/someone from the next room - although the software they use will simply drop the call if there’s no progress within a minute or so.
I received a call from an unknown mobile number on Friday. An automated voice went on to tell me that they were the HMRC fraud investigation team and if I didn’t press #1 on my keypad a warrant for my arrest would be issued.
No thanks.
Keep getting these calls, but always end up answering them,
They are my Kids after all.!