Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


jlittle

188 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified
Subscriber

#242738 12-Nov-2018 10:34
Send private message

My mother-in-law has been charged $100 for a 5½ minute call to the Thuraya satellite network. She may have briefly answered a scam call, but not 5 minutes.

 

 

Spark support seem to be overloaded this morning, is this normal for a Monday? Or are lots of people querying bills, due to a lot of these charges?

Filter this topic showing only the reply marked as answer View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2
stinger
628 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user


  #2124002 12-Nov-2018 11:53
Send private message

If she answered a scam call, then she should not be charged. Receiving calls is free in New Zealand (except if you are using overseas roaming on a mobile). If she made the call, then it is up to the person that made the call to know what rate they are going to be charged.

 

As for the Spark helpdesk, school teachers are on strike in Auckland today, so they may have more than usual number of people taking annual leave.




huckster
842 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified
Lifetime subscriber

  #2124011 12-Nov-2018 11:59
Send private message

I have received two calls from Tunisia over the weekend. A colleague at work has just received one too.

 

The scam is to get you to phone them back. Was it an inbound or outbound call...?

 

 


sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #2124012 12-Nov-2018 12:00
Send private message

You can't be charged for receiving a call. She could only be charged if she had made the call to the +88216 country code.

 

 




SATTV
1648 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #2124027 12-Nov-2018 12:20
Send private message

Is she still using a POTS line?

 

I have had someone clip a phone across my line before and make calls, we knew at the time as were were not home during this time and the cap was off the plinth outside our house when we got home.

 

It was not a large amount so we did not fight it, I did however put an immediate toll bar on our line and we never had any further issues.

 

 

 

John

 

 





I know enough to be dangerous


jlittle

188 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified
Subscriber

  #2124083 12-Nov-2018 13:06
Send private message

SATTV: Is she still using a POTS line?

 

No, the call was from her mobile number.

jlittle

188 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified
Subscriber

  #2124128 12-Nov-2018 13:25
Send private message

huckster: Was it an inbound or outbound call...?

 

I've managed to get her to check the call log on the phone, a low-end Samsung. She says "I have found a record of the call in question". I am investigating remotely, otherwise I would be there gathering witnesses and carefully recording details.


solutionz
589 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user


  #2124136 12-Nov-2018 13:41
Send private message

Well logic dictates must be one of the following:

 

     

  1. MiL has returned a scam call (call record should show incoming & outgoing call).
  2. MiL has dialed number possibly by tapped on tel: link on a website etc. (should have outgoing call record).
  3. Malware has auto-dialed number (may or may not appear in outgoing list, look for dodgy apps, virus scan).
  4. Or as to suspect someone else has dialed the number (outgoing call record may or may not have been deleted).

 

Either way you need to get the call records from the phone or Spark and correlate the time(s) to the most plausible scenario - before blaming Spark or "exciting xenophobic suspicion"...


 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
jlittle

188 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified
Subscriber

  #2124160 12-Nov-2018 14:19
Send private message

solutionz:

     

  1. Malware has auto-dialed number (may or may not appear in outgoing list, look for dodgy apps, virus scan).

 

 

Thank you, I hadn't thought of the malware possibility. I don't think she uses the web on the phone, she uses her iPad for that. But it needs to be checked out.

wellygary
8312 posts

Uber Geek


#2124167 12-Nov-2018 14:29
Send private message

jlittle:
SATTV: Is she still using a POTS line?
No, the call was from her mobile number.

 

I just looked up spark's rates,  !!!!!

 

How they can justify a $10/minute premium over calling the same number from a spark landline baffles me.....


michaelmurfy
meow
13240 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator
ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2124216 12-Nov-2018 15:09
Send private message

wellygary:

 

How they can justify a $10/minute premium over calling the same number from a spark landline baffles me.....

 

This isn't Spark - it is a common scam: https://community.bnz.co.nz/t/wangiri-scam-dont-call-back/29611 





Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.


stinger
628 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user


  #2124222 12-Nov-2018 15:20
Send private message

michaelmurfy:

 

This isn't Spark - it is a common scam: https://community.bnz.co.nz/t/wangiri-scam-dont-call-back/29611 

 

 

How can a number that "is ‘spoofed’ to look like a national call" be a call that is an international one? Surely, the number is +64xxx or 0[2-9]xxx if it is a national call, or +<not 64> or 00<not 64>xxx if it is an international call?


wellygary
8312 posts

Uber Geek


  #2124224 12-Nov-2018 15:25
Send private message

michaelmurfy:

 

wellygary:

 

How they can justify a $10/minute premium over calling the same number from a spark landline baffles me.....

 

This isn't Spark - it is a common scam: https://community.bnz.co.nz/t/wangiri-scam-dont-call-back/29611 

 

 

Really?

 

https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/landline/pricing/callingrates/

 

Iridium, Globalstar and Thuraya:

 

Cost per minute from Landline : $7.64,

 

Cost per minute from Mobile: $18.35


hashbrown
463 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #2124333 12-Nov-2018 17:36
Send private message

I got a burst of Wangiri scam calls in October including one from +882(one)6900306.

rugrat
3106 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #2124394 12-Nov-2018 18:55
Send private message

wellygary:
https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/landline/pricing/callingrates/


Iridium, Globalstar and Thuraya:


Cost per minute from Landline : $7.64,


Cost per minute from Mobile: $18.35



Spark could increase the price of landline to move prices closer together.
2degrees charges $12 landline, $12.99 mobile from what I could find.

Looks like Sparks landline price is way on the low side to what others charge, mobile on the higher side.

I like prepay to postpaid, as only what’s on phone can come off.
Guessing finding out what time call was made would be a start.

michaelmurfy
meow
13240 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator
ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2124398 12-Nov-2018 19:01
Send private message

wellygary:

 

Iridium, Globalstar and Thuraya:

 

Cost per minute from Landline : $7.64,

 

Cost per minute from Mobile: $18.35

 

Ah yes - now I see. I misunderstood you. Pretty strange...





Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.


 1 | 2
Filter this topic showing only the reply marked as answer View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.