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Automated spam call apparently from local exchange

SueN — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 14:17:22 GMT

Spam calls are not uncommon. This one said my ISP would be cut off tomorrow because of security.

What was unusual about this one was that it appeared to come from my small exchange, and the first 3 digits of the number were the same as mine. It had 6 digits though, and mine only has 5. Is there any way that BT can stop them spoofing local numbers?

Re: Automated spam call apparently from local exchange

NigelB72 — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 15:32:02 GMT

There's no way telcos can stop them spoofing numbers as they're calling from internet based phone systems.

Re: Automated spam call apparently from local exchange

SueN — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 16:34:21 GMT

That's disappointing. Thanks.

Re: Automated spam call apparently from local exchange

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 16:43:20 GMT

A call blocking phone like the BT4600 can make all the difference, and stops 100% of these types of calls.

Re: Automated spam call apparently from local exchange

SueN — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 19:59:06 GMT

Call blocking is useful, but if they can spoof a number in my village, couldn't they spoof a friend's number?

Re: Automated spam call apparently from local exchange

NigelB72 — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:13:02 GMT

@SueN technically they're not spoofing a number they're programming their system how to identify itself on caller ID. They set this to whatever they want. A company I used to work for programmed their system to display local phone numbers to the area we were campaigning to mislead people. Needless to say because of my ethics, once I found out they were doing this I quit 👍

Re: Automated spam call apparently from local exchange

SueN — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:30:27 GMT

Good for you.

Re: Automated spam call apparently from local exchange

Firefox1701 — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 07:24:28 GMT

Theoretically yes; in reality:

These people are blanket-bombing; they're not targeting you personally. Aside from the dialling code, if there are six figures in your telephone number, assuming the first digit remains the same, theoretically there are 100,000 possible permutations of other digits ( granted, some of those numbers will not be in use; but they use auto-diallers which dial all the numbers in a sequence indiscriminately rather than knowing in advance which ones are 'live' or not ). If you have, say, twenty friends who call you regularly ( I should be so lucky!!! ), the odds are still one in five-thousand that the number appearing on your scanner will be one of your friends' numbers. If you use a phone such as ( I think ) the BT4600, which requires the caller to announce themselves before being put through, it won't matter even if they do spoof one of your friends' numbers. Admittedly the BT4600 and phones like it are a matter of personal preference - mine are much much older than that ...!... but if it's a major problem for you, that would most likely solve it.