Can I change a landline number which is swamped by scam callers?

[RichieRichie]

Hi. 
I have access to my Dads landline account (as hold power of attorney for him) as he is a vulnerable person. 
He currently has call protect on the account and I monitor his incoming calls via the security function once signed onto his MyBT, check the numbers and was blocking the ones identified by others as scams. 
The issue is that he now has the maximum 100 blocked numbers and still gets new calls every day.  Every single call except one’s from us family and friends is a scam one. He doesn’t like having to accept calls and wants the call blocking removed.  While I don’t want to do this as know many are being stopped, I thought getting him a new landline number would mean he wouldn’t be the easy target he is currently. He has already lost money as gets drawn in. Question - Can we get his land line number changed? TIA

[Keith_Beddoe]

@RichieRichie 

Welcome back to this user forum for BT Retail phone and broadband customers.

The best option would be to buy a BT4600 phone. This has the ability to block all numbers that are not stored in the directory of the phone, so only important calls will get through. All other callers are forced to announce themselves first, or can just be sent to voicemail.

BT Call Protect is not very effective, as you have discovered.

Changing landline number would not help as calls are generated randomly, and all phone number get them.

[VeteranISPUser]

Hi @RichieRichie 

You need something like trueCall which has been designed for your situation.

[Keith_Beddoe]

@VeteranISPUser 

The BT4600 does the same as TrueCall.

https://shop.bt.com/products/bt4600-premium-nuisance-call-blocker---twin-084666-BY4J.html

[VeteranISPUser]

Hi @Keith_Beddoe 

You cannot manage it remotely with the BT4600.

[Keith_Beddoe]

There is an annual charge with TrueCall.

I have the BT4600 and never had to answer a spam call. They show in the received call log but never ring the phone.

[RichieRichie]

Thank you 😊

[RichieRichie]

Thanks. I think that’s probably the phone he has and says that he doesn’t get lots of bogus calls but unfortunately he has a tendency to spin a line so I can’t be sure if that’s true. Would the phone (if it is a 4600) still allow blocks without the ‘accept call’ bit beforehand? Thx again

[Les-Gibson]

Have you thought of getting him a mobile and setting it up so that only starred contacts (in Android) can call him but he can call any and all of them if he wishes.

[Keith_Beddoe · Accepted solution]

@RichieRichie 

The BT4600 does not require you to accept a call unless the caller states their name, you are the given the option of taking the call or blocking the call, or doing nothing. Scam calls are generated by a computer and are only passed to the scammer if the recipient answers the call.

Unknown calls are intercepted by BT Call Guardian and the phone does not ring unless its a phone number that is stored in the phone itself.

You can change the Call Guardian settings so that unknown calls go to answerphone instead of the announce mode, however the announce mode is of more use in case someone calls that are known, and their number has not yet been stored in the phone.

Its 100% effective in blocking scam callers.