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What to Do When Someone Asks, “Who Called Me?”
Spam calls are the scourge of modern life. If, like me, you find yourself asking “who called me?” when you see a missed call, read on for some practical tips.
Regular readers will know that I love taking trips in and around North East England. Living here lets me, my husband and son enjoy a bracing outdoor lifestyle, while being close enough to Newcastle and surrounding areas with all their dining options and other diversions. Trips to Chillingham Castle, Hadrian’s Wall, and Lanercost Priory all contrast nicely with our meal at Hard Rock Café, trampolining at Jump 360, and a vintage bus tour of Newcastle.
Family time is precious and important to us, so we try hard not to be interrupted when we are on our adventures. For that reason, spam and nuisance phone calls are an especially unwanted distraction. And nothing makes me more frustrated than getting home after a long day to find missed spam call messages clogging up our phone inboxes.
I know I am not alone. In fact, the people at unknownphone.com conducted research in October 2021 which showed that, over the previous 12 months, Newcastle and the North East got the third-highest number of spam calls in the UK.
What are Spam Calls?
Spam calls include things like silent calls, where the caller tricks someone into calling back using an expensive international number. While most people have phone packages that include free minutes, often international calls are not covered. In the worst cases, phone scammers can get hundreds of pounds of calls logged before being found out.
Other calls include ones where the scammer gets financial information, such as banking and credit card details, which they then use to make unauthorized charges. And some unsuspecting victims have been duped into letting scammers access their computers when they get a fake computer support call.
Solutions to Deal with Scammers Who Called Me
So what can we do to deal with scammers?
The first, and best, thing families can do is talk about the problem. By discussing it with each other we understand what we are dealing with and can find solutions.
Moving on from that, there are practical steps we can take. Some are more effective than others. For example, registering for the Telephone Preference Service will help limit calls from UK telemarketing companies. But the Service does not cover text messages or scam calls from abroad.
Other solutions include using a call-blocking app, telling your phone service provider to put a cap on calls, reporting scammers to Ofcom, and ignoring calls from unknown telephone numbers. This last option is the easiest way for us to deal with scammers, but it can lead to uncertainty. Fortunately, searching unknown numbers online and using reputable websites can help by showing a database of phone numbers, along with comments and explanations from people who have received similar calls. Armed with this information, I know if we should call the number back or block it.
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