yet anther scam....and what YOU can do to get the baddies!

[sodabubble]

Phone scams are nothing new in any industry. Indeed it is not unheard of for people to call us pretending to be firemen, or policeman, and wanting us to advertise in some fake newsletter. Buut heres what happened to me and this is how you can take the power back.

It started at the beginning of the week, a guy claiming to be a policeman rang me up wanting me cash. I refused and hung up. I rang the local police station for them to verify his name, which of course came back as false. He rang me again, this time getting a bit more agro.
Then he started ringing my landline. He now tells me that he knows my name and address!

The calls become threatening. I feel a bit scared. I ring the police who are logging these kind of complaints. I then ring BT - they say they cannot trace past calls, BUT they can trace future ones!
I now have the trace set up on my line (all for free) and am in total control of which calls I trace and which I don't. BT send me a form each time I report an abusive call from the fake police and tell me the number is always the same and they have passed details onto the police.

Please be aware geeks that yes, we all get sick of telesales calls, and yes most of the time they just give up and go away. But we DO NOT have to put up with abusive and threatening calls from people pretending to be policemen!

 

[MrsR]

You poor thing hunnie major hugs x

 

[user 17597]

Oh my god, what a horrible thing to happen. Hope ur ok, xx:hug:

 

[sodabubble]

Oh my god, what a horrible thing to happen. Hope ur ok, xx:hug:

Thanks guys, I am fine, but I wanted to share this info with you all, so that you know what to do if this happens to you. By being able to trace these idiots, I feel so much more empowered now. I'm sorry if I am repeating info to anyone, but I did not know how to do this, and I want to help other geeks who may not have known also.:hug:

 

[sj1973]

What a nightmare for you ........ MY god , what is the world coming to when people feel the need to call you up...try and con you then call being aggressive......i hope the police catch this bum and do something about him ..........

Thanks for the warning huni.....hope you are OK ??? xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[dee]

i have had loads of these , scamming idiots , i used to really think they were police , fire brigade , etc...
i had one yesterday saying i had agreed to be part of some book or something:lol: just told her to phone me back coz i was busy but she didnt , pmsl x

 

[shellpink]

That s terible! Some poeople out there age just plain nasty!!! Your lucky you got help with the traced calls. My friend was getting some really scary, sick calls but the police said they cant do anything or trace calls as nothing has happened????

 

[sodabubble]

i have had loads of these , scamming idiots , i used to really think they were police , fire brigade , etc...
i had one yesterday saying i had agreed to be part of some book or something:lol: just told her to phone me back coz i was busy but she didnt , pmsl x

yep they are all divs! I am fine, I was concerned because he knew my name and address, which is worrying for anyone, but I really wanted you all to know about the fantastic trace service offered by BT and to let you know that if a guy saying he is called 'Tim Jones' rings you up claiming to be a policeman - hang up! xx

 

[Rosey]

Thanks for sharing - we get quite a few of these and this is something that would be worth doing. Well done for getting one back on these sharks

 

[Zingara]

. I then ring BT - they say they cannot trace past calls, BUT they can trace future ones!
!

You poor thing....and well done for staying level headed, and sharing this with everyone!

As a matter of interest....the above is not strictly the case. BT CAN trace past calls as long as you know a date and time, but won't trace them on request from an individual. If any matter gets serious enough, the police can request the CDR (Call Data Records) for a line which show all incooming and outgoing activity, including number, even if it had been withheld. BT, or any other phone provider for that matter, are obliged to hold this information for many years as well, so it can go back quite a long way too!

Just wanted to clarify it, in case anything got that serious for anyone else.

 

[Noodle]

Gawd, poor you Soda ... glad you and the boys in blue are on the case though.

It definitely pays to be cautious.