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Various missed calls from mobile numbers

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Lucan

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You should be in government ...; we need someone to drive through action. We as a country must be losing millions a year in these scams. If the government won't act ... maybe the media will take it up, try and shame HMG into action.
The media have taken it up*. The basic problem is that most scam calls originate from India and the Indian legal system (probably like most nations') is not designed to cope with international wire crime. To prosecute someone in India the victim must register the complaint in India and would need to give evidence in an Indian court. Anyway the Indian police (like any police) have enough to do already without the complications that would be involved in international prosecution. We won't say anything about corruption.

There has been talk of the West financing a special cyber crime force in India, but India might take that as an insult and an infringement of sovreignty. India is not poor as a nation anyway, despite assumptions by many in the West, although they have poverty problems (as does the West). Even with a special force, it would still require India to amend its laws.

What could be done in the West is to stop allowing incoming international calls to be made so cheaply. A professional scam call centre in India with say 20 staff will have a computer continuously ringing perhaps a hundred numbers in the West any one time. If a victim picks up, and does not hang up by the end of the introductory recorded message, the computer will hand the call to a free agent; if none are free at that moment, the computer hangs up, a common occurrence for us, and the computer will start phoning the next number on its list. Apparently these calls, connected or not, cost the scammers very little for reasons I don't understand; I believe they use Skype. If the telecom companies made a significant charge for every incoming international call, say £1, whether answered or not, it would destroy these scammers' business model.

* For example: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000fzx2/panorama-spying-on-the-scammers
 
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Typhoon

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The media have taken it up*. The basic problem is that most scam calls originate from India and the Indian legal system (probably like most nations') is not designed to cope with international wire crime. To prosecute someone in India the victim must register the complaint in India and would need to give evidence in an Indian court. Anyway the Indian police (like any police) have enough to do already without the complications that would be involved in internationmal prosecution. We won't say anything about corruption.

There has been talk of the West of financing a special cyber crime force in India, but India might take that as an insult and an infringement of sovreignty. India is not poor as a nation anyway, despite assumptions by many in the West, although they have poverty problems (as does the West). Even with a special force, it would still require India to amend its laws.

What could be done in the West is to stop allowing incoming international calls to be made so cheaply. A professional call centre in India with say 20 staff will have a computer continuously ringing perhaps a hundred numbers in the West any one time. If a victim picks up, and does not hang up by the end of the introductory recorded message, the computer will hand the call to a free agent; if none are free at the moment the computer hangs up, a common occurrence for us, and the computer will start phoning the next number on its list. Apparently these calls, connected or not, cost the scammers very little for reasons I don't understand; I believe they use Skype. If the telecom companies made a significant charge for every incoming international call, say £1, whether answered or not, it would destroy these scammers' business model.

* For example: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000fzx2/panorama-spying-on-the-scammers
Thanks for a very detailed and informative response.

I've come across 'Mike' from Mumbai, 'Keith' from Kolkata and 'Cheryl' from Chennai. You are right about India - its problem is more about income distribution rather than poverty and its current party system is unlikely to alter that. The problem with your solution is that telecoms companies (usually based overseas) are falling over themselves to offer cheap calls and our providers don't seem to care. It would need a 'brave' government (or more likely alliance of governments) to take steps to raise them. I've tried - in vain - to find if the EU ever contemplated action, or to what extent its citizens are affected.

It is just so frustrating that I hear reports of these scams on 'You and Yours' or 'Money Box' and all that authorities offer are warm words and the same old safety tips. The problem is (and here I disagree with your previous post - I think some victims are naive or too trusting - they think a call from the 'police' must be from the police and it is their duty to help them) that the victims are not especially rich and are fleeced out money that they had put aside - often for relatives.
 

wireforever

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Had a call on the house phone this week thought it might be important so answered was a call centre so just hung up.On a tea break at work a colleague got a call from a 'accident in last few years firm' he said yes strung them along for several minutes and then told them he had cut his finger on a piece of paper in the office !
 
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The best advice is if the number is not recognised. Don't answer the call. Since it could cost you to answer it. If no message is left. Check the number on Google which probably will point to a scam caller.
Then block the number. Not unknown for similar numbers to try again
Similarly block them too.
If it's a real call they will leave a message. If not its probably a scam call and best given a wide berth.

This is not necessarily a good course of action. My wife is going through a set of procedures at the local hospital in different departments and also has dealings with the doctor's surgery and 3 other hospitals. If she ignored unexpected calls from unknown numbers, she could suffer serious health consequences.

Also, as I believe someone else has said, you cannot be charged for receiving a landline call. You can be charged if you press a button to reply. So never do that! However, at one time you could be charged for receiving a 'roaming' mobile call, although I'm not sure this still happens.
 

Mcr Warrior

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Occasionally receive unknown and obviously randomly dialled calls on my (ex directory) landline. Usually by simply asking the caller (assuming it's not a silent call when the line goes dead) the name of the person that they'd like to speak to, otherwise the caller is advised that "the call cannot be connected", this will normally sort out most time wasters / potential scammers. Don't ever seem to receive quite as many unwanted calls on my mobile number.
 
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