Call from unknown number

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If they want you bad enough they will ring back otherwise i would just ignore it.
 
Sue Ellen said:
How do you do that? Had a quick look at Google and some of the instructions are a right rigmarole.
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As others have mentioned, by putting a 5 after the prefix and before the number it will get you straight to their voicemail greeting and the opportunity to leave a message.

A variation of this is what was done in the UK phone hacking scandal(s). If the user hasn't bothered changing the default Voicemail password for their network (0000 or 1234 or whatever) you can have full control of the voicemail and can listen to messages or delete them.

I have to confess that, many years ago in the earlier days of mobile phones, I used to 'hack' into voicemail in this manner. As a teenager, myself & some friends would regularly change the greeting in voicemail of friends & acquaintances. We thought it was hilarious at the time.. we'd just say outrageous things in funny accents. I cringe now thinking about it.
 
It's excellent advice to protect from scammers.

Genuine firms don't call from unknown numbers.
 
Thirsty said:
It's excellent advice to protect from scammers.

Genuine firms don't call from unknown numbers.
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In these covid times that’s not always true. I ignored a no caller Id call recently but answered it when it rang again a short time later. Turns out it was vodafone to say I had won a prize!
She explained that with working from home etc, their numbers sometimes show as blocked now.
That said, I would never give any personal info out on receiving such calls and would always call the company instead.
 
Thirsty said:
Yet another reason to block unknown numbers!
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Yeah I know how it sounds but it was legit :)
I’d always ignore the first call and hope they would leave a voicemail to explain themselves. But it is possible that companies can ring from ordinary mobile numbers or no caller Id in these times.
 
Extremely bad advice and shortsighted to just limit your phone to those numbers in your contact list.
None of us know what is 'around the corner' and who may need to contact you urgently.

A few weeks ago I was assisting an aged lady who was in extreme distress, it turned out she had her son's mobile number written down and I was able to contact him and as luck had it he was only about 15 mins away.
I don't know what would have happened if he had set up his phone as advised by a poster here.
 
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There should be a way to block calls from numbers (outside a safe list) that are from outside your home country.
 
If people phone and need you they will leave a message or call back.

Sometimes if you google you can see it is a local business or service.

Otherwise forget about it.
 
SparkRite said:
Extremely bad advice and shortsighted to just limit your phone to those numbers in your contact list.
None of us know what is 'around the corner' and who may need to contact you urgently.

A few weeks ago I was assisting an aged lady who was in extreme distress, it turned out she had her son's mobile number written down and I was able to contact him and as luck had it he was only about 15 mins away.
I don't know what would have happened if he had set up his phone as advised by a poster here.
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Why did you block your number?

In my experience genuine callers do not need to do so.

In any event, our emergency services are well trained to assist persons in extreme distress, in the event that people don't have numbers written down on pieces of paper.
 
Carnmore said:
upon answering there was silence and the call ended.
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I get these on a regular basis. There is always a silence....then an automated message a few seconds later to tell me that there is something wrong with a TV subscription that they say I have.....

Last week, I got three of these in the one day but nothing since.......until my landline number comes up on their system again.
 
Re-read my post.

Not in contact list->reply with text saying 'pls text'

Scammer will not respond.

Genuine caller replies with text. Recipient responds as needed.

Simples.
 
Thirsty said:
Why did you block your number?
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I didn't.
Thirsty said:
In my experience genuine callers do not need to do so.
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That's why I had not set up my phone to withhold caller ID.
Thirsty said:
Last tip, set up your phone to ignore unknown numbers.
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99% of calling numbers that display on my phone are unknown to me, as a name would appear if they were within my contact list. If her son had his phone set up as you advise then unnecessary complications would have ensued.
If what you meant to say was 'ignore call where no number is displayed' then I suspect most people do so already, unless curiosity gets the better of them.
Different phones/networks display different messages where a caller has withheld their number , such as :- 'Number withheld', Caller ID Withheld', Number not Sent', etc.
Thirsty said:
In any event, our emergency services are well trained to assist persons in extreme distress, in the event that people don't have numbers written down on pieces of paper.
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I am well aware of that, but a few minutes of my time resolved the situation without drawing on the already overstretched resources of the emergency services thus leaving them free to deal with potentially more demanding/deserving cases.
 
I Google and also use phonenumbers.ie to see if anyone else is getting dodgy calls from the same number and report it if necessary
 
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