It's a scary world out there with criminals hiding behind every keyboard and on the other end of the phone.

Like me, I'm sure you've recieved daily scam calls trying to pull the wool over your eyes and relieve you of your hard earned Dosh. For instance the constant scam calls from Amazon, seeming to be the latest trend.

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2020/09/03/vishing-scams-use-amazon-and-prime-as-lures-dont-get-caught/

Be careful out there and watch out for those dastardly cowards. For more security news look at the fabulous people from PC help forum.

https://pchelpforum.net/f/tech-security-news.60/

Be safe out there & take care.

I regularly receive calls regarding my washing machines warranty having run out. I simply ask them to identify what make of washing machine I have before telling them in no uncertain terms what they can do with their ''extended cover''.                                                                                                                                                                             

TPS The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is the UK’s only official ‘Do Not Call’ register for landline and mobile numbers. It allows people and businesses to opt-out of unsolicited live sales and marketing calls. it's well worth signing up for there service https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/

Another useful thing to do is to sign up with Mail Preference Service stops loads of junk mail through your door UK consumers generate millions of pounds of postal sales per year, the majority welcome the information and special offers they receive by post. However, some people might take a different view. https://www.mpsonline.org.uk/

I've used TPS for years.... And its not working                                                                                                                                                                             

It works for me Lynn. Of course now no one rings me!
Also if you get a phone with call screening it puts the scammers off as they have to introduce themselves.                                                                                                                                                                             

I thought it wouldn't happen to me but there's a particularly underhanded call goin around at the moment.

They pretent to be from the inland revenue, claiming tax fraud, and offering 1/2 price immediate settlement, paid on line as an alternative to court ,with paperwork lost in post, madeup reference numbers etc.

Looking back, it sounds too stupid to get caught, but they sounded damn plausible and lay it on thick with criminal proroceedings court etc.

I was saved by a combination of my own ignorance and a policy of "always plead not guilty".

I asked "which court?"( I dunno where tax fraud is charged).

They didn't know the difference between a sheriff court, district court etc. and got aggresssive when I asked.

But for anyone who has never had anything to do with the court system, or for whom involvement with the law is scary - the option of paying a couple of hundred quid to make an aggressive legal problem go away would be attractive.

Re the TPS, telephone preference service, not ALL callers are blocked. Market researchers are allowed to call, and guess where they get your number from?!

Many years ago, I added my number, and my mum's, and shortly afterwards I kept getting calls and when I asked where they got my number from I was told that market researchers are not blocked from using the numbers on the TPS list.

I removed both our numbers and advise others to either remove theirs or not to add theirs to the TPS.

These days I keep getting phone calls that don't ring long enough for me to answer, and when I've called back the number a voice recording tells me their number is not recognised, so how the hell did they make a call? Weird!

The only calls I get now are missed calls when I am out and about. Maybe the scammers are watching my place so that they only ring when I'm not in!!!                                                                                                                                                                             

Copied from Sky if you're on sky hope it helps

Caller Identity
We have call features that let you see who’s calling and let you make calls without showing your number.

Some call features are free for Sky Talk customers, but some are optional that cost a little extra - these are added to your Sky bill and can be viewed online.

If you’re receiving nuisance calls, find out how to deal with them.

Caller Display

Identify the last caller

Withhold your number

Blocking unwanted calls
The best way to do it is to activate Sky Talk Shield – our free call screening service that lets you answer the calls you want and block the ones you don’t.

But if you haven't got a Sky Talk Shield or we've told you that you can't get it, you can still block calls with Last call barring.

To block a specific number:
Dial 1 4 2 5 8 and choose bar a specific number.
Dial the number you want to block then press #.
Or, to block the last number that called:
Dial 1 4 2 5 8.
Press * twice.
To unblock or to hear a list of all blocked numbers, dial 1 4 2 5 8 and follow the instructions. You might be asked for a PIN if you haven't changed this try the default 1234.

Last call barring is an optional extra.

To reject anonymous calls:
Just dial * 2 2 7 #. You'll hear the message: "Callers who withhold their number will not be able to phone you" or a long high-pitched tone which confirms it’s been activated.

To turn it off, dial # 2 2 7 #. You’ll hear "Callers who withhold their number will be able to phone you" or a long high-pitched tone.

Anonymous Caller Reject is an optional extra.

Get in touch with us using the buttons below if you want to add any features to your Sky Talk subsrcipton.

WML at VStrom's comment 🤣

CCDM, my mobile phone blocks spam callers, if their number has been recognised as a spam caller, so that helps a lot. As soon as my phone rings I know it's spam, cos no one phones me lol They text mainly.