You've won a holiday.....

[HandyMac]

We keep getting these nuisance calls. When I pick the phone up there is a long recorded message going on about how I've won a holiday, etc. The number is withheld.

I am signed up to the telephone preferential service so that doesn't seem to be the answer.

Is there anything I can do about this?

Andrew

I believe you can block ALL 'number withheld' calls. Otherwise, I'm afraid it is just a case of putting the phone down on them.

[fireman328]

Report the calls to TPS with as much info as you can and ask them to deal, if need be listen to the full message and glean any phone numbers or url's.
I have found the TPS to be pretty good at stopping the calls if you give them enough to go on.

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by JohnHorb

I believe you can block ALL 'number withheld' calls. Otherwise, I'm afraid it is just a case of putting the phone down on them.

I think this will only block numbers that originate within the UK. I used to have this and any number that came up on my phone as 'Out of area' IE from another country would still get through.

So - yup - putting the phone down sounds like a good idea.

[Nugget]

I had one of these the other day, but the weird thing was that, seeing as both Me and Mrs Nug were at work, the entire message recorded on my answering machine

We're signed up with the TPS so I just gave them all the details - so far, that's the only one we've had.

[Chimaera]

Yep - I've had several - report them to your local Trading Standards, the police (in Essex they have a seperate area to deal with this as it's a huge problem atm) and ICSTIS. I reported one last November (along with several other people) and I got an email back from ICSTIS a few months ago, saying they had bought legal action on the company making the calls, they were given a £30,000 fine and were banned from operating.
Of course they probably started operating again under another name........

I have call divert and divert most calls to my mobile most of the time. My mobile rang only yesterday, it was a 'Diverted Call' but it was a private number calling and it was a similar claim, that I had won an holiday. I just cancelled the call, this is the benefit of call divert, esp to a mobile, as with a landline, if you hang up, they are still on the line.

[bob_builder]

Originally Posted by Mick

I have call divert and divert most calls to my mobile most of the time. My mobile rang only yesterday, it was a 'Diverted Call' but it was a private number calling and it was a similar claim, that I had won an holiday. I just cancelled the call, this is the benefit of call divert, esp to a mobile, as with a landline, if you hang up, they are still on the line.

I bet you get charged for the full duration of the divert they are on the line for, though, even if you cancel the call!

[punky]

Wasn't there a warning going around about these messages, where it says: "to claim your prize press 1, if you wish to reject you prize press 2", and when you press either button, it diverts the call and reverses the charge on you, so you pay a fortune for it?

Be on the safe side, never press a button it asks for, just hang straight up.

[bob_builder]

Originally Posted by punky

Wasn't there a warning going around about these messages, where it says: "to claim your prize press 1, if you wish to reject you prize press 2", and when you press either button, it diverts the call and reverses the charge on you, so you pay a fortune for it?

Be on the safe side, never press a button it asks for, just hang straight up.

Yes there were rumours but not actual facts that this was true. I believe OFCOM said that this was impossible.

[HandyMac]

Originally Posted by JohnHorb

I believe you can block ALL 'number withheld' calls. Otherwise, I'm afraid it is just a case of putting the phone down on them.

A potential issue with that approach is if you are in the throes of looking for a new job. Recruitment agents invariably withhold their number, I think because many of them work from home.

Andrew

[altis]

We've just been blitzed recently:

CLID Date Time Message
08701242495 07/05/2005 17:51 none
08701242495 08/05/2005 13:45 none
08701242495 08/05/2005 16:02 none
08701242495 08/05/2005 16:33 none
08701242495 08/05/2005 17:10 none
08701242495 09/05/2005 08:26 none
08701242495 09/05/2005 18:38 none
08701242495 09/05/2005 20:40 none
08701242495 10/05/2005 08:25 none
08701242495 10/05/2005 17:11 none
08701242495 10/05/2005 18:04 none
08701242495 10/05/2005 20:11 none
08701242495 10/05/2005 20:22 none
08701242495 11/05/2005 08:41 none
08701242495 11/05/2005 18:38 none
08701242495 11/05/2005 19:33 none
08701242495 11/05/2005 19:51 none
08701242495 12/05/2005 08:40 none
08701242495 12/05/2005 17:24 none
08701242495 12/05/2005 19:58 none
08701242495 12/05/2005 20:25 none
WITHELD 12/05/2005 20:36 none
08701242495 13/05/2005 08:39 none
08701242495 13/05/2005 17:19 none
08701242495 13/05/2005 19:29 none
08701242495 13/05/2005 20:20 none
08701242495 14/05/2005 08:10 none
08701242495 14/05/2005 10:37 none
08701242495 14/05/2005 14:39 none
08701242495 14/05/2005 15:27 none
08701242495 14/05/2005 16:30 none
08701242495 14/05/2005 17:10 none
08701242495 15/05/2005 10:12 none
08701242495 15/05/2005 11:17 none
WITHELD 15/05/2005 19:25 none
08701242495 16/05/2005 08:30 none
08701242495 16/05/2005 17:08 none
08701242495 16/05/2005 18:22 none
08701242495 17/05/2005 08:25 none
WITHELD 17/05/2005 09:33 none
08701242495 17/05/2005 17:06 none
08701242495 17/05/2005 19:07 none
WITHELD 17/05/2005 20:02 none
08701242495 18/05/2005 08:33 none
08701242495 18/05/2005 18:39 none
08701242495 18/05/2005 20:20 none
08701242495 19/05/2005 13:30 none
INTERNATIONAL 19/05/2005 16:38 You have won a prize, press 9
INTERNATIONAL 19/05/2005 16:54 You have won a prize, press 9

We are registered with the TPS so, yesterday, I reported it to the Information Commisioner:
http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/
...and we wait to see what happens.

[BUGZME]

Beware of new telephone fraud


We have been advised of a new telephone fraud in operation and this applies to incoming calls only whether it is on your landline or your mobile. This fraud is now so rampant that even BT is being forced to do more to take action against these rogue operators. Here is a brief description of how this fraud is perpetrated and you need to know what you can do to avoid becoming a victim of this scam. Just remember if anyone asks this is where you heard it first. ALPHATALK.COM

Firstly, your phone will ring as normal. Upon answering the phone, you will hear a recorded message congratulating you on winning either an all expenses trip to an exotic location or some other lucrative prize(it can also be a cash prize). You will be asked to press 9 to hear further details.

As soon as you press the digit 9 you will be connected to a premium rate telephone line that will charge you a horrendous level of money on a per minute basis. At this stage even if you hang up it will not disconnect the call and will continue to charge you for up to a minimum of 5 minutes. The call will be designed to keep you on the phone for as long as possible in order for you to confirm confidential details in order to claim the prize. By now you may have guessed the fact that there is no prize money due to you. The only people who have successfully claimed their prize is the unscrupulous service provider who may have even charged you up to £20.00 per minute for the privilege of listening to their recording. This has taken many people by surprise once they have received their telephone bills. The best action to take when you receive these calls is to immediately hang up and not follow the dubious instructions. Just remember there is no such thing as a †˜free lunch'.

These companies operate from outside the UK and therefore not governed by UK regulators and legislation. There appears to be other variations of this theme. We have also heard of people receiving calls on their lines from individuals claiming to be BT engineers conducting a test on the line and asking for the unsuspecting recipient to press 9. BT has warned consumers not to dial 9 for anyone as this is not a normal procedure.

Scams on Mobile Phones

A whole series of similar scams are operating on mobile phones as well which you need to be vigilant against. The most common ones are as follows:

1) You will receive a missed call from a number beginning with 07090ââ‚ƚ¬Ã‚¦Ã¢à¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Bewar e of all mobile numbers beginning with this code. They will charge you a premium rate and will be outside of any free call allowance that you may have for calling different networks.

2) You will receive a text message saying that someone you know would like to meet you for a date. Before you let the adrenalin take over with passionate and impure thoughts filling your brain, please relax as this is only a con designed to get you to reply to the text message which will charge you at a premium rate.

Please feel free to share this information with your nearest and dearest so they do not fall prey to these telephone vultures who will always find new ways of alleviating us from our hard earned cash.

[daxx]

yawn . . .

The tones generated by pressing '9' bear no resemblance to the 'charging tones' used in some countries.

Here in the UK charging is done by 'exchange and/or distance' and not by tones as in the US and certain other countries.

So the information given above is yet again untrue.

http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/hoaxes/press9.html

anyway