17-09-2018, 10:31 AM
Caller display is now included in all line rental, no longer a chargeable extra.
But the number you see is readily falsified, so what you see may not be what you get. Like Peter, I sometimes play the fool, depending on whether I'm in the mood to waste my own time too. I don't get legitimate calls from overseas so anything that's "international" or has a malformed number gets ignored. "Witheld" might be legitimately coming from my doctor or hospital so I tend to answer these if I'm expecting anything. Again like Peter I answer numbers I know about, though sometimes I end up answering a properly formed UK number that turns out to be rubbish.
The golden rule is: Never give away anything about yourself. Never , ever attempt to call any of these numbers back. Most are harmless in that they don't really exist but in a few cases it gives the scammer useful info. Not forgetting the 070 number scam, where calling it back costs you a fair bit of money, some of which goes to the scammer you're calling. That specific problem is almost fixed now that Ofcom have changed the rules for 070 numbers.
I beleive that BT and other phone providers actually screen out the bulk of the rubbish automatically. What reaches us is a tiny fraction.
But the number you see is readily falsified, so what you see may not be what you get. Like Peter, I sometimes play the fool, depending on whether I'm in the mood to waste my own time too. I don't get legitimate calls from overseas so anything that's "international" or has a malformed number gets ignored. "Witheld" might be legitimately coming from my doctor or hospital so I tend to answer these if I'm expecting anything. Again like Peter I answer numbers I know about, though sometimes I end up answering a properly formed UK number that turns out to be rubbish.
The golden rule is: Never give away anything about yourself. Never , ever attempt to call any of these numbers back. Most are harmless in that they don't really exist but in a few cases it gives the scammer useful info. Not forgetting the 070 number scam, where calling it back costs you a fair bit of money, some of which goes to the scammer you're calling. That specific problem is almost fixed now that Ofcom have changed the rules for 070 numbers.
I beleive that BT and other phone providers actually screen out the bulk of the rubbish automatically. What reaches us is a tiny fraction.
www.borinsky.co.uk Jeffrey Borinsky www.becg.tv
