New wave of Indian spam calls

[Recliner]

I'm getting a new avalanche of spam calls from India. Unusually, they're not spoofing a UK origin, and have a +91 dial
code (but a different number each time, so there's no point blocking individual numbers). They initially claimed to be
from BT, but now say Openreach.

They have my name, address and email, and send an authentic looking pin code email to that address during the call, to
'prove' they're really from BT (but they don't say what the pin is for). I'm getting really bored with these calls,
which keep coming whether I don't pick up, or do pick up and waste their time for a few minutes. I'm guessing their list
of phone number/name/address/email targets is limited, and they just keep bombarding the same ones, with no feedback
loop to remove unreceptive targets from the list.

Has anyone else had these calls? Have you found a way to stop them?

[Theo]

Recliner <recline...@gmail.com> wrote:
> They have my name, address and email, and send an authentic looking pin code email to that address during the call, to
> 'prove' they're really from BT (but they don't say what the pin is for).

I don't know how to stop them, but try putting the email address they cite
into here:
https://haveibeenpwned.com/

It might tell you where your details have been leaked from. No help
preventing that horse from bolting, of course. But might explain why they
have a small list of targets.

Theo

[Woody]

If your landline is supplied by BT then get BT Call Protect (free) which
will allow you to block specific calls by dialling 1572 after the call.
More importantly you can access your blacklist on line and block by
dialling code. If you are unlikely to receive any genuine calls from
India then block 0091 - it may not accept +91 as insufficient
characters. Sneakily you can also block 0044 which does not affect UK
generated calls but does block calls that have a CLI starting 0044 which
many scam calls often display.

In addition to your own blacklist there is a BT overall blacklist that
they automatically invoke for all BT Call Protect users.


--
--
Woody

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com

[Recliner]

Yes, I've been using that email address for many years, so it's been on several leaked lists (emails aren't secret
anyway). I wasn't too bothered that they had that email address, but just wish I could figure out how to stop them
calling me several times a day. Neither wasting their time, nor not picking up seems to get me off their auto-dialler
list. Maybe I should try playing dumb, and waste much more of their time?

[Recliner]

No, it's not a BT or Openreach line, which makes it amusing when they claim to be monitoring hackers doing evil things
on it. But it also means I can't use BT's blocking tools.

[grinch]

On 18/09/2021 13:00, Woody wrote:
> On 18/09/2021 12:31, Theo wrote:
>> Recliner <recline...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> They have my name, address and email, and send an authentic looking
>>> pin code email to that address during the call, to
>>> 'prove' they're really from BT (but they don't say what the pin is for).
>>
>> I don't know how to stop them, but try putting the email address they
>> cite
>> into here:
>> https://haveibeenpwned.com/
>>
>> It might tell you where your details have been leaked from.  No help
>> preventing that horse from bolting, of course.  But might explain why
>> they
>> have a small list of targets.
>>
>
> If your landline is supplied by BT then get BT Call Protect (free) which
> will allow you to block specific calls by dialling 1572 after the call.
> More importantly you can access your blacklist on line and block by
> dialling code. If you are unlikely to receive any genuine calls from
> India then block 0091 - it may not accept +91 as insufficient
> characters. Sneakily you can also block 0044 which does not affect UK
> generated calls but does block calls that have a CLI starting 0044 which
>  many scam calls often display.
>

As the presented CLI is what ever text they put into the auto diallers(
spoofed) ,blocking numbers is fairly pointless as is reporting them for
the same reason.

Wasting their time is a good sport , also I have tried "what would your
mother say if she knew you were trying to steal from people as a job,
would she be proud of you ? ".

[MB]

On 18/09/2021 12:31, Theo wrote:

> I don't know how to stop them, but try putting the email address they cite
> into here:
> https://haveibeenpwned.com/
>
> It might tell you where your details have been leaked from. No help
> preventing that horse from bolting, of course. But might explain why they
> have a small list of targets.

They mainly seem to get the details from big companies who have had
their database compromised, usually if they have a password then it is
an old one.

[Roderick Stewart]

On Sat, 18 Sep 2021 13:00:57 +0100, Woody <harro...@ntlworld.com>
wrote:

>If your landline is supplied by BT then get BT Call Protect (free) which
>will allow you to block specific calls by dialling 1572 after the call.

Or just buy a phone with a spam-blocking facility such as BT
Callguard, or an answering machine, or both. Either will be effective
on any landline without you needing to sign up for anything extra.

Callguard works best if you have CLI because it will then only give
its announcement to callers who are not in your phone list, instead of
all callers, but either way it will dissuade most or all of the spam
callers. Their method of persuasion is what is sometimes called
"social engineering", and it doesn't work on machinery, so if they
don't get through to a human being straight away they won't bother to
try to get any further because that would waste their valuable time.

Rod.

[tim...]

"Theo" <theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote in message
news:Qeh*fo...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk...

> Recliner <recline...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> They have my name, address and email, and send an authentic looking pin
>> code email to that address during the call, to
>> 'prove' they're really from BT (but they don't say what the pin is for).
>
> I don't know how to stop them, but try putting the email address they cite
> into here:
> https://haveibeenpwned.com/

which simply tells me that at some point in the past my email is on a (or
more than one) scamsters list somewhere presumably with a password that
might or might not have worked then ... or now?

TBH that information is useless to me

Short of changing my email address to something else (and telling my 500
contacts to change) what can I do about it?

[MB]

On 07/10/2021 08:22, tim... wrote:
> which simply tells me that at some point in the past my email is on a (or
> more than one) scamsters list somewhere presumably with a password that
> might or might not have worked then ... or now?
>
> TBH that information is useless to me
>
> Short of changing my email address to something else (and telling my 500
> contacts to change) what can I do about it?

Most seem to have come from the leaks of names, EMail and password from
big companies some years ago.

I have had EMail from scammers quoting my details, the passwords have
been ones I used years ago.

They often send you an EMail showing your own EMail address in the From
field to prove they have access to your EMail. Of course anyone with a
bit of knowledge knows that is easy to do but I can imagine others
believing it.

[Andrew Benham]

I got fed up when the calls from +91 were coming in every 2 hours - but
only during what I presume are Indian office hours. I decided to do
something.

My landline phone is on VoIP with aaisp.

I have a Raspberry Pi running Linux which is always on. I used the
'baresip' application to give me a CLI for SIP, and then wrote a simple
'expect' script to identify the +91 calls, answer them, play a short
audio clip telling them they are spammers, and then hangup the call.

Only issue is I've not had a +91 call since this system went live, so
I guess that's coincidence.

--
Andrew




--
Andrew Benham Southgate, London N14, United Kingdom

The gates in my computer are AND OR and NOT, not "Bill"

[Bob Eager]

On Thu, 14 Oct 2021 12:06:47 +0100, Andrew Benham wrote:

> On Tue, 12 Oct 2021 22:55:32 +0100 MB <M...@nospam.net> wrote:
>
>> On 07/10/2021 08:22, tim... wrote:
>> > which simply tells me that at some point in the past my email is on a
>> > (or more than one) scamsters list somewhere presumably with a
>> > password that might or might not have worked then ... or now?
>> >
>> > TBH that information is useless to me
>> >
>> > Short of changing my email address to something else (and telling my
>> > 500 contacts to change) what can I do about it?
>>
>> Most seem to have come from the leaks of names, EMail and password from
>> big companies some years ago.
>>
>> I have had EMail from scammers quoting my details, the passwords have
>> been ones I used years ago.
>>
>> They often send you an EMail showing your own EMail address in the From
>> field to prove they have access to your EMail. Of course anyone with a
>> bit of knowledge knows that is easy to do but I can imagine others
>> believing it.
>
> I got fed up when the calls from +91 were coming in every 2 hours - but
> only during what I presume are Indian office hours. I decided to do
> something.
>
> My landline phone is on VoIP with aaisp.

Same here. But all my numbers (I have a few) go into the Asterisk box,
and I have fun with them there.

[MB]

On 14/10/2021 12:06, Andrew Benham wrote:
> I got fed up when the calls from +91 were coming in every 2 hours - but
> only during what I presume are Indian office hours. I decided to do
> something.

If only they would get themselves a decent telephone system. More often
than not, the calls drops out before they have finished speaking.

[Bob L]

I get calls purportedly from 01202 numbers
( Bournemouth/Poole area)

01202159289

01202159526

01202159291

01202159278

01202159183

01202159180


As I don't know any one on the 01202 exchange, all 01202 calls then
get routed on my RASPBX to

SIT tone and the BT voice "The number you have dialed...........etc.

and then hangs up.

6 calls in September none as yet in October

[Woody]

The giveaway is the first digit after the area code - 1. We generally do
not have area/user phone numbers in the UK that start with a 1, only
special services with which we are all familiar. This is so that when
calling a local number on a landline there is no need to dial the area code.

However OfCom are of the opinion that whenever we dial a number we
should dial the full code - as we do on a mobile - and look as though
they are likely to invoke this requirement when we all move to VoIP
operation in 2025-2033. This will then mean that (1) you will be able to
keep the same landline number for life wherever you live in the country
and (2) as a consequence the area code part of the number will no longer
be indicative of location.

[Graham J]

Woody wrote:

[snip]

>
> However OfCom are of the opinion that whenever we dial a number we
> should dial the full code - as we do on a mobile - and look as though
> they are likely to invoke this requirement when we all move to VoIP
> operation in 2025-2033. This will then mean that (1) you will be able to
> keep the same landline number for life wherever you live in the country
> and (2) as a consequence the area code part of the number will no longer
> be indicative of location.

Interesting.

The move to VoIP will require that everybody receives a reliable IP
service.

At present this will mean continued use of the copper pair for the "last
mile", together with a suitable router (probably VDSL, but ADSL for
longer lines where VDSL does not work). This will mean a significant
reduction in telephone reliability for users in less advantageous
locations.

For example, I have FTTC over about 1.1km copper and it re-syncs at
least once per week, apparently at random. This would mean losing a
VoIP call, whereas whatever causes the re-sync would not interfere with
the current analog technology - at most I might notice an audible click.

Acceptable reliability will only arrive when all users are connected
with fibre (currently known as FTTP). Does anybody really believe this
will happen in the 2025-2033 timeframe?


--
Graham J

[Tweed]

>
> Acceptable reliability will only arrive when all users are connected
> with fibre (currently known as FTTP). Does anybody really believe this
> will happen in the 2025-2033 timeframe?
>
>

With the odd exception, yes. It’s too expensive to keep the copper network
going. As equipment and lines become life expired it will be impossible to
justify replacing it with anything other than FTTP.