Can anything be done about phone calls from "the technical department of spark"?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Can anything be done about phone calls from "the technical department of spark"?

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1423 posts

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#2225152 26-Apr-2019 05:24

nunz:
Play the yes game. Just answer every thing they say with yes. Eventualy they catch on but it annoys the snot out of them as you have wasted their time and stopped them scamming a person who is less savy for a few minutes.

either that - tell them the phone you are on has a battery going flat and see if you can get them to call you back on an 0900 number. 0900 87233 is trade mes at $2 per mniutes. or 0900 naked - naked bus is about the same. Tried to find more expensive ones but searching 0900 porn numbers or tarot numbers on my computer will get me busted for all the wrong reasons.

There are 0900 numbers that make charity donations of $20 to $50 per call.
You could supply one of those.

Alternatively, you could supply them with the 0900 number of a fellow scammer, at $99 per call. https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=125&topicid=249107

frankv

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#2225380 26-Apr-2019 10:06

Scammers buy and sell lists of people's details. When someone gets e.g. your landline number and name, they'll sell it (along with 1000s of others) to scammers with autodiallers and people ready to do the actual talking. Each of them might try calling the numbers, and then on-sell the list. So, multiple independent calls, possibly all sounding similar, can be generated from one listing. Each of the scammers will remove your name from their copy of the list (which they might onsell), but that won't stop the calls from coming as copies of the original list continue to circulate.

nunz

1421 posts

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#2225535 26-Apr-2019 13:49

Kiwifruta:
nunz:

Play the yes game. Just answer every thing they say with yes. Eventualy they catch on but it annoys the snot out of them as you have wasted their time and stopped them scamming a person who is less savy for a few minutes.

either that - tell them the phone you are on has a battery going flat and see if you can get them to call you back on an 0900 number. 0900 87233 is trade mes at $2 per mniutes. or 0900 naked - naked bus is about the same. Tried to find more expensive ones but searching 0900 porn numbers or tarot numbers on my computer will get me busted for all the wrong reasons.

There are 0900 numbers that make charity donations of $20 to $50 per call.
You could supply one of those.

Alternatively, you could supply them with the 0900 number of a fellow scammer, at $99 per call. https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=125&topicid=249107

Must admit it has made me think about getting my own 0900, putting it on a website with no proper links and a big warning not to call it and letting the troll robots pick it up and dial it.

Dingbatt

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#2225550 26-Apr-2019 14:16

I would be interested to know how the auto-dialing works. I always assumed that it simultaneously called multiple numbers and if a human answered, it dropped the others and retained the live call. There always seems to be a pause prior to someone coming on the line which I assumed was the time taken to drop the other calls and transfer to a scammer. I try to time it with that in mind so that I hang up after the others have been dropped. But the more I read threads like this, the more I realize that's pointless as their systems are probably far more sophisticated than that.
The only people that legitimately ring us on our landline are elderly relatives, otherwise we would do away with having a landline. I have a least warned them to speak straight away (and not with an accent) or they will get hung up on.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

linw

2849 posts

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#2225579 26-Apr-2019 15:00

I am getting calls to my cell ph from Chinese speakers. Got two this morning. They even left messages in Chinese! How dumb is calling NZ numbers and speaking Chinese? Wonder what they were trying to scam me for?

Oh, dear, just had a thought. Better ring the gummint as I have a Huawei ph!!

NPCtom

430 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2225701 26-Apr-2019 17:29

Dingbatt: I would be interested to know how the auto-dialing works. I always assumed that it simultaneously called multiple numbers and if a human answered, it dropped the others and retained the live call. There always seems to be a pause prior to someone coming on the line which I assumed was the time taken to drop the other calls and transfer to a scammer. I try to time it with that in mind so that I hang up after the others have been dropped. But the more I read threads like this, the more I realize that's pointless as their systems are probably far more sophisticated than that.
The only people that legitimately ring us on our landline are elderly relatives, otherwise we would do away with having a landline. I have a least warned them to speak straight away (and not with an accent) or they will get hung up on.

I thought what they did is use a web-based script that call numbers in an ascending order e.g If they want to call people in the Manawatu region they would go +64 6 3500001, +64 6 3500002, +64 6 3500003 etc.

MadEngineer

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#2225778 26-Apr-2019 19:49

Dingbatt: I would be interested to know how the auto-dialing works. I always assumed that it simultaneously called multiple numbers and if a human answered, it dropped the others and retained the live call. There always seems to be a pause prior to someone coming on the line which I assumed was the time taken to drop the other calls and transfer to a scammer. I try to time it with that in mind so that I hang up after the others have been dropped. But the more I read threads like this, the more I realize that's pointless as their systems are probably far more sophisticated than that.
The only people that legitimately ring us on our landline are elderly relatives, otherwise we would do away with having a landline. I have a least warned them to speak straight away (and not with an accent) or they will get hung up on.

I was getting those numberless calls quite a bit where I’d answer only to be hung up on. I then realised these calls were always dead silent at the other end without the usual background noise you get on most calls.

Now if I get an anonymous call I’ll pick up the phone and listen for that silence before saying hello in the most obviously fake old ladies voice possible. Boom, the scammers start their spiel.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

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colinuu

246 posts

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#2225869 26-Apr-2019 21:40

LesF:

These calls are on our landline. We don't use it for much, we just keep it for the sake of a few older relatives who prefer it.

So my Caller-ID solution will be perfect for you, since 99% of genuine calls will be recognised numbers. Just don't engage with them, don't even answer the call. Slowly but surely they go away, believe me.

linw

2849 posts

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#2226030 27-Apr-2019 09:04

But some scammers show as Private Calls and we have some of our contacts who are private.

colinuu

246 posts

Master Geek

#2226032 27-Apr-2019 09:23

linw:

But some scammers show as Private Calls

Actually, not so many in my experience because they know that lots of people won't answer a private call.

But I guess there is no perfect solution. Scammers don't leave messages, so tell your friends to leave a message and you return their call.

BoerieGalore

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#2226034 27-Apr-2019 09:30

Just divert all suspicious ranges to Lenny, 09 555 5555.

If you have VOIP through 2talk or hero then setup call recording and listen to the results. Makes the calls all worth it.

ANglEAUT

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#2226118 27-Apr-2019 10:07

linw:

I am getting calls to my cell ph from Chinese speakers. Got two this morning. They even left messages in Chinese! How dumb is calling NZ numbers and speaking Chinese? Wonder what they were trying to scam me for? ...

"One scam starts when members of the public receive automated messages in Mandarin claiming to be from the Chinese Consulate. Victims are then instructed to provide their own personal details, as well as those of their family members in China" Taken from https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/police-issue-warning-over-chinese-phone-scam.html

See Chinese Community scam: https://www.spark.co.nz/scamalerts

& sometimes real nasty too: "scam where the caller claims to be from the police and Spark and tries to access victims' computers and bank accounts" from https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/364891/police-urge-people-to-be-mindful-of-new-phone-scam

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

sen8or

1787 posts

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#2226155 27-Apr-2019 10:13

Ask them what colour panties they are wearing, do they prefer briefs, thongs or G strings?

linw

2849 posts

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#2226586 28-Apr-2019 06:19

ANglEAUT:

linw:

I am getting calls to my cell ph from Chinese speakers. Got two this morning. They even left messages in Chinese! How dumb is calling NZ numbers and speaking Chinese? Wonder what they were trying to scam me for? ...

"One scam starts when members of the public receive automated messages in Mandarin claiming to be from the Chinese Consulate. Victims are then instructed to provide their own personal details, as well as those of their family members in China" Taken from https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/police-issue-warning-over-chinese-phone-scam.html

See Chinese Community scam: https://www.spark.co.nz/scamalerts

& sometimes real nasty too: "scam where the caller claims to be from the police and Spark and tries to access victims' computers and bank accounts" from https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/364891/police-urge-people-to-be-mindful-of-new-phone-scam

Thanks for that. Glad I don't understand Mandarin!!

GSManiac

488 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2230377 3-May-2019 17:23

Had one earlier. Led them on for a while then screamed as loudly and as high pitched as I could. Hopefully did some damage to their ear drums.

Need to get a whistle.

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