[Fry1989]

Ok, here's my problem. For the past 8 months, I've been called buy 3 phone numbers with an extra digit. You know how a full phone number has 11 digits? Well, these ones show up as 1,1-XXX-XXX-XXXX. I've no clue what that extra digit means. Anyhow, at first it was just every few days, and I answered the first couple times, saying "hello" several times, and no answer. So since then whenever those 3 have called, I just end the call without picking up. After the first few months, two of the numbers stopped calling, however, the 3rd has continued, and has only gotten worse, Now it's probably every day, if not twice a day, and just yesterday, when I ended the call, it called again in under 10 seconds. I've picked up, and threatened to block it, call the police, what have you, to no avail.

I don't have ny credit problems(yes, I'm sure) or debt, or any other reasons I can think of for this constant bother. If anybody knows what that extra digit means, I'd love to know, as well as suggestions as to what to do. I'm thinking it's time to get an incoming call report from Bell, and take it to the authorities and get this over.

 

[57]

Whenever you get a call from an auto-dialer and there's no one at the other end, I always do the following:

Wait a few seconds and say "hello" every few seconds so that the other end knows that they've reached someone - do not say nothing or hang up - they will keep calling if you do.

Then find out the name and phone number of the organization that's calling you if possible - write down the information. Pretend to be initially interested to get this info.

Then, if you don't wish to hear from these people again, ask to be removed from their calling list (this may take a few weeks).

If they continue to harass, at least you have some information.

If you hang up without making good contact with them, they will simply continue to call you. I have finally convinced my wife to say hello a few times when an auto-dialler calls so that we don't get called again and again and again (she used to hang up after about 2 seconds)

So far I've been lucky and the calls have always stopped, or I add them to my call block list in my phone if the number stays the same. We get probably one or two of these calls a month.

 

[ScaryBob]

Whatever you do, do not call back. This looks like an overseas number. If you call back, you could be hit with a large toll call fee.

 

[Fry1989]

Whatever you do, do not call back. This looks like an overseas number. If you call back, you could be hit with a large toll call fee.

Thanks for the heads up.

I'll try and answer it next time it calls, and ask to be off the call list. It that doesn't work, I'm gonna contact bell I guess to look at having it blocked.

 

[Wiremonkey]

I agree, don't call it back, maybe that extra digit is a county code. These are required when you call a number in Europe for intance. There are also some scammers in Canada that have been using IP phones with spoofed stats to make unsolicited calls. They are aware of it at the RCMP, but unable to trace the calls due to the nature of IP phones and how these calls are spoofed.

The calls always announce that you've won 100,000 travel points because you are a valued Canadian Tire customer, or TELUS customer, and there was another company represented too but I can't remember the name now. This has been going on since last spring. I got the first one that I was a valued TELUS customer on my TELUS corporate cell last March, knew right away it was a scam and notified the RCMP fraud squad with the tel number from the caller ID of my phone, thats where I found out about the scam. It has been in the local papers here in BC too, Sun and Province dailies, about last March or April. I got another one at home just last week, listened to the schpeel, said nothing, pressed nothing, hung up.


- another TELUS tech