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Research in Other Countries => Australia => Topic started by: majm on Wednesday 02 July 14 03:03 BST (UK)
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Hi there,
Today is Wednesday 2 July 2014. It is 11:45 am. I have just put the phone down after taking a call on our UNLISTED phone. (So not on our business phone lines). I am sharing this intrusive call to alert other RChatters to a scam. Yes, my OH is reporting it to the police.
JM : Hello (I never give out much info when I answer the phone ::) unless it is on our business phones ::) )
Caller : Yes, I am phoning to talk about your car accident history and how we can reduce your insurance costs by removing those records.
JM : You have phoned an unlisted number on the NO NOT CALL register.
Caller : Yes, so can you confirm your car accident history please, just for the last three years to start.
JM : Can you confirm MY name please, so that I know you are talking about MY personal details.
Caller : I ask the questions, you answer.
JM Right, my name is (and I gave the name of a female prime minister of New Zealand ! )
Caller : Yes, you have a long history of car accidents, it will cost you $480 to remove the records, or if you want me to do it urgently I can have it removed today for $900. Do you have an ABN to claim back the GST or do you have relations who have ABN.
JM Right Mate, you are UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE. Thank you for your unsolicited call.
I hung up.
Please please can anyone in regional NSW please make sure your elderly relatives are alerted to this type of phone scam whereby they seem to be trying to get the bank account details ..... I add that because this particular phone line has been UNLISTED for around 30 years, or more, they must be using automatic generation of numbers technology to make the VoIP calls. (the background noise was horrific to say the least, and so noisy that I cannot tell if the caller was male or female..... Just very determined to get some personal info out of me. )
For those interested, I actually do not have a car accident history .... fingers crossed that I continue to have a safe driving record, and for the record, my given name is not Helen and I have not ever been a prime minister and my surname is not Clark/e.
Cheers, JM
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It is not just that one majm. There are so many scams about. I have become so fed up with them that I just hang up, only once have I had them call back. I think the rule should be do not give any information to anyone over the phone. Even legitimate businesses can push for information and sign you up for things you don't want.
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And also my OH adds, and DO NOT GIVE anyone the ABN just because they ask you for it .... it is searchable at the http://www.abn.business.gov.au/ and for a small fee any member of the general public can obtain the full name and address of the holder of any ABN....
Cheers, JM
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DO NOT GIVE OUT ANY INFORMATION ON ANY UNSOLICITED CALL. YOUR PROPER CONTACTS KNOW YOUR NAME AND THE OTHER DETAILS..... SO JUST HANG UP AFTER TELLING THEM THEY ARE GOING TO BE REPORTED. AFP ADVICE
NEIL
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I had one from "Microsoft Technical Division" a week or so ago. After much argie bargie, i got a phone number from them, and informed them that it would be reported to a) the police, and b) to Scamwatch. They were not happy ;D ;D
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Article about this on ABC News today -
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-02/ten-most-commonly-reported-scams-in-australia/5565680
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We've had a few over the years, before we went on the do not call register (and now we're mobile only).
My favourite one would be the obvious long distance call from "Bruce" from Melbourne. His Indian accent gave him away, and when I asked what time it was in Melbourne he told me he wasn't allowed to tell me that. So I hung up. :)
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And are you all alerting your elderly family members, or your elderly neighbours, most of whom are sticking with their familiar landline for phone contacts .....
I suspect the average age of the landline subscribers is rapidly increasing, and the pool of landline subscribers is rapidly drying up. So the elderly are becoming a larger target for these scams.
When speaking with one of my relatives in my "nearing the ton club" (ie aged 90 plus years) about this, he said "and some of my friends should go 'unlisted' but they stay listed in case they need to look up their own phone number in the phone book and that's a worry in itself" ..... My lot are alert and have been known to phone me up just to check if I HAVE KICKED THE BUCKET .....
Cheers, JM
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HI
My cousin and myself were researching the Family Tree ( he has since passed away), very late one night we finally had the answer to the missing link ( from information he had tucked away in his notes from about 15 years earlier)
He ran to the phone and called the person who had given him the information, I said she may not still be living, he replied " No she is not dead her phone is ringing"
Muss
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;D Muss ! That's made my day. :)
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Mine too :)
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I've one relative who has got their mobile phone number blocked - it does not display when they ring me. If that were not the case I'd not answer any incoming call without a displayed number. I'm thinking of buying them a dual SIM phone - so they can have both - one blocked for business .. the other for family/social.
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It has gotten to the stage where I'm ware of answering the door after dark. Not even safe if they appear to be Police officers these days .. I keep the local cop shop on the phone list for neighbor hood watch, I could use that to check.
oh have a recent email offering fake documents (drivers license, passports .. various countries) .. would you give your credit card details to people who are obviously criminal?
--------- the old saying "If it sounds too good to be true...
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I have admit I am one of the elderly. Anyway, I have to handle all phone calls as OH is too deaf. I use a landline phone which has flashing lights for the deaf and a screen showing the caller's number. I have a mobile but no longer in use as I hardly used it. I have for years now been plagued by cold calls and scams, despite regularly updating my details on Do not call register. My family & friends and I have a system plus the incoming call screen on the phone so I know who is a legitimate caller. Other calls I treat with upmost suspicion and depending on the time or whether I have been woken from my nana nap, with even rudeness. I mostly hang up. At the moment I have a regular garbled accented caller using either a private number or an unrecognisable number, and identifying herself as Giselle last time - regularly wanting to do a charity survey or wanting to know how many solar panels I have. Recently, I let the calls go to voice-mail but that is no deterrence.
But last week at 5.45pm on a week night, I got a "private" call, I firstly thought was my relative. It was from someone purporting to be from my bank. I listened, I was vague, got her name. Hung up. Went to my bank the next day. The call was legitimate. I apologised for my abruptness but in no uncertain manner, I told them of their foolishness in phoning me on a very general matter. I have never received a phone call from my bank before specially at that time. What else can you do?
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Hi Gazania,
Please gently check that your friends know how to handle these phone scammers, and also that your rellies know how well you are handling these calls. Giselle has not phoned here, as yet. But if and when, I am now prepared ;D ;D ;D . I think I will answer "I have Gazillion solar panels here". I am sure the bank staff understood why you handled that incoming call in that way. Perhaps they will now know better for next time.
Keep Up the Good Work. :)
Cheers, JM
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My son and daughter in law are having a difficult pregnancy with the unborn baby been quiet sick. We went last week for daughter in law to have another scan to see how things were progressing and i was to ring my mother when we got home to fill her in on the latest news. While my son and wife were finishing off in the doctors my daughter and i went outside and i used my daughters mobile to try and ring mum. BUT mum wouldnt answer the phone. I had to text her mobile and let her know i was trying to ring.. she then answered the phone ;D Mum didnt know my daughters mobile number when it showed up so she didnt answer it.
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It's a sad world when the elderly don't feel safe to pick up the phone if they don't recognise the number! I am wondering if I will be able to remember or recognise phone numbers in a few years time - already I forget why I walked into the hallway.
Cocksie
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I was amazed after I retired to find I was getting 20 or so cold calls a day (in pre do not call days). I then allowed all calls go to "message" and the callers hung up as soon as they heard my recorded "after the beep" message. Worked well. Now living in the country without a land line and that works too! Fran
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It's a sad world when the elderly don't feel safe to pick up the phone if they don't recognise the number! I am wondering if I will be able to remember or recognise phone numbers in a few years time
That is another reason I like my new 'smart phone' .. if the number calling is in my contacts list - it puts up the persons name .. not the number. Just another thing not to remember. It also has a 'sleep' function - turns itself off between my nominated hours .. only bad comment I've had from the relos is - 'but what if there is an emergency?' Don't think I'd be too much use? Oh it also has its own 'phone number bared' function - if there is a number or ten (I don't really know the limit) that are annoying .. you can list them on the phone and it simply won't ring.. or take a message. Land line phones just don't have the facilities that you can have on a cell phone. Pity. Oh .. I am now putting shopping lists on the phone too .. and it does voice recording too.. and takes photos of things before I start work on them, during the work .. that way I 'remember' how it came apart .. so I should be able to put it back together... All I have to do is remember to use it and how to use it :P
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I have had two calls purporting to be from a famous Australian Airline....telling me that as a result of my last flight I have won a ballot for a largish amount of money.
I just go into peals of laughter.....(I can't fly due to an inner ear/vertigo problem)
For some reason the caller just hangs up! ;D ;D ;D ;D
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It is just not the elderly who cop it. Here is one young man's lament:
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/blogs/unwritten-law/how-dare-you-call-my-phone-20140704-3bdfw.html
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I no longer answer calls to my landline if Number Withheld or Private is shown as caller ID. I have a Panasonic phone and have all our business, banking, doctors, dentist, friends and family phone numbers recorded in our phone and set with a different ring tone and default ring for all other calls.
We are on the Do Not Call Register and recently one particular number kept calling from early in the am until late in the evening. It was an Australian phone number. I called Telstra and asked their advice. After giving dates and times they advised that this particular number could be permanently blocked but our dial tone would alter. It is now a long 'flat' sound.
Only helpful if you can capture the caller's phone number.
From Telstra
Australian telephone numbers used primarily for private and domestic purposes are eligible for registration on the Do Not Call Register. These include fixed (or landline) numbers, mobile phone numbers, satellite numbers and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) numbers.
Registration is free and will last for five years at which point the individual will need to re-register their number in order for it to stay listed on the Do Not Call Register.
And yes I still get unsolicited phone calls from charities and people offering free investment advice, selling solar panels etc etc as their Australian phone numbers are shown as caller ID with a default ring tone. I can choose whether or not to answer and if the call is unwelcome I always state this phone number does not accept calls such as yours and please remove our listing from your database and end the call.
Have an delightful elderly friend who is a bit of a character. He does not have a computer and the man from "Windows Technical Support Dept" had greatly difficulty instructing my friend how to turn on his computer. ;D ;D He has been known to answer the unwelcome calls from 'overseas' with Police Constable Jones...and the caller usually hangs up :P
Cheers :)
Cando
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Brazen scumbag scammers will use any tactics, so be aware that scammers are also pretending to be from "DO NOT CALL REGISTER" asking for info to update your details.
http://acma.gov.au/Citizen/Stay-protected/My-privacy-world/Reduce-unwanted-calls/consumer-alert-scammers-claiming-to-be-from-acmas-do-not-call-register
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The only way to stop them is to go along with their scam. Give them false names, false information and false credit card details. Keep them on the phone for as long as you can, take time to get your credit card, tell them you've turned on your computer and it is slow to start up. Ask them to repeat things because you are partly deaf. Generally play their game. If you hang up straight away, they have way more time to annoy others. Oh! I'm retired and love the challenge of breaking my 11 minute record before they hang up. All in a day's fun!!!!!
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Our phone tells us who is ringing if they are in our memory on the phone.Sometimes it comes up International so we just let it carry on and ignore....they usually ring off.Sometimes it's withheld and this can sometimes be our daughter ....we answer but put the phone down if it sounds suspicious.
I had a call from John Lewis a few months ago to say my account had been corrupted and what was my mothers maiden Etc for security.I said I wasn't happy about divulging anything over the phone and they suggested ringing them back on the customer service number of JL.THINK....no don't do it on same phone as it might be a scam and they would listen in.Used the mobile instead.It turned out to be genuine .My JLCard had been used in London on a day when Iwas in Hastings.I was impressed how quickly JL realised that this transaction was not my usual type of transaction.Alls well....credited to me and a new card.
Ringrose
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I was worried about my mother answering the phone and changing her bank account to a better one the bank recommended. This mucked up all the automatic payments. I had to go to the bank and use power of attorney to fix up the mess.
We then got her an answering machine and said not answer the phone and to let whoever is ringing give a number and you can call back your friends and let us listen to any you do not know.
It has worked out a lot better.
All her friends and relatives know the arrangement and it works well.
There have been a lot of hang up calls when we visit so she is missing a lot of cold calling. Also as she is in her 90’s she is not tempted to rush to answer the phone.
One call she had on the answering machine was from “the taxation office” saying she had a refund.
I said no way would the taxation department be ringing to give you a refund..
:)
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Although I have the "Telephone Preference Service" in place that blocks cold callers...I still get some coming through...if they address me by name and it is a consumer enquiry/survey I tell them that Mr & Mrs ******* have moved and could they please make a note ;)
Carol