Ring, ring.
Ring, ring.
“Hi sir, this is Jim from the pc experts, we see you are having an issue with your computer right?”
“How did you get this number?”
“We are calling because you are having an error, you have virus right?”
“My computer is fine, how did you get this number?”
“We need to fix those problems and to fix those problems we need access to your server”
“You still haven’t answered my question”
“Sir, you are our customer, we need these details to access your computer”
“I’m a customer but I’ve never heard of you?”
“You are our customer sir, we will bill you, you have a virus we will fix for you”
“Don’t call me again”
Hangs up
“Sir, Sir?”
Have you had an unsolicited message from an unknown number or been called up from an unknown number you didn’t recognise?
There are two types of cold callers in this world:
Live marketing calls: Unwanted calls from real people (think the example above)
Automated calls: Pre-recorded messages played when you answer the phone. These are commonly used for accident-related services.
It’s a popular opinion that scam callers and telemarketers only message the elderly and gullible, but no-one is without an exemption from these people.
The office of national statistics reported that by the end of September 2017, the volume of frauds within the year by telemarketing call centres rose to 272,980 recorded offences.
How to deal with nuisance calls
Here are three key ways of dealing with this problem.
Sell something to them
If it’s automated just end the call immediately, otherwise you can have some fun with the scam caller. Take their pitch then turn it back on them as you offer them something ludicrous. Anything comes to your head, toothpaste, pure distilled prune juice, ad blocker for phones. Waste their time and enjoy yourself. Take a note out of Tiny Tims book:
How did scam callers get my number?
Think about all the information you share on social media. Even the permissions that go through mobile apps harvest your personal information with an intent to sell. Read the terms of service and check what apps use before you install them.
If you’re sick of calls and feeling powerless, register up with the telephone preference service. It’s free service that opts out your number from unsolicited sales or marketing calls. For companies, sign up for the CTPS. Some illegal telemarketers won’t pay attention to this one, but don’t worry this leads to the next point.
Report them.
For silent/abandoned calls you can complain to Ofcom. Put on your detective hat, any information you can provide such as the name and number of the caller will go a long way to helping.
Now for live nuisance calls and SMS messages, report your concerns to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)). Just last month 107 cases are under investigation, two fines had been issued amounting to £147,000 for spam calls and emails. They update the report every month so if you notice a specific company has been harassing you, take a look here. Click here.
Now, for a company who won’t harass you with unsolicited messages, aren’t in the business of ambulance chasing and big surprise, want to see your business grow into a majestic business-like butterfly.