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Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

Roy12345 — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:34:54 GMT

Every day I get an automated spam call to my Landline, warning of suspicious charges to my card and suggesting I 'Press 1 to talk to the Bank'.

Each time I block the number, seemingly a mobile 07xxx one, using 1572.

But the next day the call repeats. Assuming the BT block works, I can only assume they spoof a different mobile number.

So it appears that nothing can be done to stop them once they have a Landline number. Most people I know have ditched their Landline; I retained mine as an 'always on' emergency option.

Is the true price of a Landline now these unstoppable daily junk calls?

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

licquorice — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:46:46 GMT

They don't 'have' your landline number, they call millions of numbers all from spoofed numbers, you just happen to be one of them. It is not just landlines that are affected, they call mobiles also.

The simplest solution is to use a whitelisting phone to only allow genuine calls. Blacklisting is never going to work

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

Kimberlin — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:46:46 GMT

@Roy12345 Sadly, landlines have been spam traps for years. Many of us now no longer bother with them as we use WiFi calling through our mobiles because there’s no need for a mobile signal on compatible handsets. Retaining a landline as an always on emergency option for most people is really no longer necessary. Very few people I know actually have a landline anymore.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

Roy12345 — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 08:37:06 GMT

A Whitelist as you describe limits the usefulness of a Landline to a very limited set of known trusted numbers. We can't realistically keep that list comprehensive and up-to-date, as we may give a Landline to say a delivery company for a one-off purpose. Almost impossible to operate a whitelist without accidentally blocking trustworthy people.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

Roy12345 — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 08:41:53 GMT

Well that was my point really. The spammers have effectively killed BT's already declining Landline service. Why do we never get mobile spam calls, but Landline ones daily, if this is a random number generator?

I'm not in the habit of leaving my mobile on 24/7, but I guess this becomes essential if the Landline is now a SpamLine we should disconnect and the Home owner needs a fast emergency line.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

Kimberlin — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 08:55:01 GMT

@Roy12345 The thing is, domestic landlines are no longer the essential service they once were. WiFi calling using a mobile phone effectively negates the use of a landline for many people because if even if you live in the middle of nowhere but are fortunate enough to have a good internet connection, you don’t need a mobile signal to make calls.

As for spam, on a personal level, because I only ever use a mobile, I choose to have my phone on silence unknown callers 24/7 which means that if someone isn’t in my contacts list, the call goes straight through to voicemail. If the call is genuine, they’ll leave a message. Spammers don’t leave messages. If a genuine caller doesn’t leave a message, I don’t care, I don’t call back. Both my mobile SIMS are registered with the Telephone Preference Service, great, but spammers ignore the TPS because a lot of them are based abroad.

At the end of the day, you can only do what’s right for you, but some of us literally live a spam free existence because we’ve given up caring whether that missed number was important.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

Roy12345 — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 10:05:37 GMT

I agree with much of the sentiment here, but also with myself. The Landline spammers have won.

However, I must reiterate my earlier question. My partner & I have had the same mobile numbers for decades, yet we never get these calls. If the spammers are just dialing random numbers, why not on our mobiles daily too?

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

gg30340 — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 10:23:03 GMT

@Roy12345wrote:
My partner & I have had the same mobile numbers for decades, yet we never get these calls. If the spammers are just dialing random numbers, why not on our mobiles daily too?

The spammers do not make the calls. A computer program does that so it depends on how the program has been written.

If you have not yet received a spam call on your mobile you are lucky. Give it time and you will.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

licquorice — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 10:27:56 GMT

@Kimberlin I've no idea why you think scam calls are restricted to landlines, as stated in my original reply, mobiles are also affected. I get as many on my mobile as landline.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

Kimberlin — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 10:32:11 GMT

@licquorice I don’t know why you feel it’s necessary to keep responding to my posts, you basically as much admitted in another thread that you find my posts boring and that I fudge out the same old mantra. Make up your mind or just put me on ignore because I’m not a fan of anything you post either. Enough said I think. I’m done with you 👍

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

licquorice — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 10:34:31 GMT

I reply because your misinformation needs to be corrected.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

Roy12345 — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 10:37:43 GMT

The spammers do not make the calls. A computer program does that so it depends on how the program has been written.

Pardon me, but I thought it was obvious I meant that the spammers are using a computer program to make the calls, not using a call-centre full of staff repeating the same script thousands of times a day?

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

gg30340 — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 10:50:13 GMT

@Roy12345wrote:
The spammers do not make the calls. A computer program does that so it depends on how the program has been written.
Pardon me, but I thought it was obvious I meant that the spammers are using a computer program to make the calls, not using a call-centre full of staff repeating the same script thousands of times a day?

This is a public forum that other people read and may not be as aware as you have now pointed out that you are so it my be new information for them.

I will now refrain from posting any other information or advice which may be useful in case I offend you by stating the obvious.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

chrisjp — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 10:59:32 GMT

I still have a DV landline and get daily spam calls. I just let them go to voicemail and, as soon as this happens, the call is ended, mostly with a strange "thank you for calling" announcement and no actual voicemail message left.
Any genuine callers will leave a message which I can quickly respond to.
The fact that the phone rings with these spam calls doesn't really bother me - it's not for long and it demonstrates that the line is working!

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

Roy12345 — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 11:03:38 GMT

I will now refrain from posting any other information or advice which may be useful in case I offend you by stating the obvious.

Thank you, stating the completely obvious in a public forum very often will cause offence. I think I've had all the helpful advice I now need.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

andydenyer — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 12:17:12 GMT

@Roy12345

I know you say you've had all the helpful advice you need now, but no-one has mentioned TrueCall. After my elderly parents nearly fell for a scam a few years ago now, I bought them handsets with TureCall built in. Anyone who isn't in your phone list has to announce who they are. After hearing them speak, you then have the option to accept once; always accept; block; or send to answerphone (the latter is very useful if unsure).

Scammers do not, or are often unable to (if using a power dialler or pre-recorded message, say), respond to the challenge, so get stopped in their tracks and never get put through. Genuine callers are perfectly happy to state who they are.

In the years since they've had them, they can count the number of unwanted calls that have got through on the fingers of one hand. In fact, if it's more than two, that would be stretching it. The two they can recall are where the caller did state who they were, but it was something along the lines of energy efficiency or building regulations, so they were just added to the blocked callers list!

Looking in their call log (in myBT), I can see all the recent attempts. Sometimes there can be two or three a day, but when I look the numbers up (on Who called me? or similar websites) they are ones that are often reported as scams. Other times, there can be days or even weeks between each attempt. Either way, silence is golden, as they say!

As for scam calls on mobiles, I do get the very occasional one on mine. But by that, I mean possibly in single figures per year. I can go several months without receiving any.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

licquorice — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 12:33:28 GMT

I rather think I did in the first reply (message 2)

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

Kimberlin — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 12:39:45 GMT

Contrary to the incorrect post another contributor made earlier about me giving misinformation about scam calls not being a thing on mobiles, I never stated otherwise, I do still get scam numbers call my own mobile on both of my SIMs. Indeed I had one this morning, but, as stated earlier, I’m permanently on silence unknown callers so I never get to answer or interact with the spammers because they never get through anyway. That method won’t suit everyone, but it’s highly effective. Before anyone starts on about missing important calls from health services/Government departments etc, I’ve informed them all I no longer have a contact telephone number, they can only communicate with me via email or post. I haven’t had any problems with that.

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

andydenyer — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 14:18:32 GMT

@licquorice

You did kind of did, I agree, but not explicitly. And @Roy12345 's response at message 4 suggests that they were clearly of the impression that with what you were suggesting ONLY whitelisted numbers would ever get through, which is not the case with TrueCall.

That's why I went on to explain that TrueCall is more than just a pure whitelist system which would indeed be quite restrictive. Instead, it's effectively a combined whitelist AND blacklist system, where calls from any numbers not on either list CAN still get through IF they state who they are AND you accept the call. Which is very handy if it's from an organisation you have very little (or just one-off) dealings with (e.g. if a delivery drivers is calling with an estimated time of arrival) and don't want to add them to the whitelist.

And, no I don't have a vested interest in TrueCall, although I recall they did impress the dragons on Dragons' Den!

Re: Daily Landline Phishing Spam Messages

licquorice — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 14:42:42 GMT

I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the OP would be aware of how whitelisting phones work hence the generic rather than specific terminology.