Scam calls

[stuphoto]

I am starting this post in response to this news link.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Penticton ... ation-scam

I have had a lot of scam calls in the last 3 months, most claim to be Service Canada about my SIN number.
They sound rather convincing at first.

Just yesterday I had 2 fake numbers and probably a third show up on my phone.
All were Kelowna numbers, exactly as shown.

12508786227. 12508785307
I am editing this one, in case it was a real caller
1 250-878-**07
This is how proper numbers always show up on my phone, with a space after the 1 and dashes where they belong.
So I am thinking they are related

I didn't answer so I don't know if it's the police scam, but I know it isn't someone I can trust.

You may want to notify your parents or friends of the potential risk.

[the truth]

was there not talk about these kinds of scam calls stopping last year by the big phone companies with new technology they said was coming out that they were working on

[Bsuds]

Telus has a free feature called call control. It works well to stop robocalls.

https://www.telus.com/en/bc/support/art ... -explained

[stuphoto]

Looks like it's for Land Lines, which I haven't had in 15 years.

[normaM]

Thanks Sudsy I didn;t know about that feature. Been getting Visa alerts, they too come on on a Vancouver area code.
Sorta miss the Windows security calls LOL. Can hardly understand them accent so heavy " This is Robert"

[one wheel]

I switched carriers & phone numbers because of scam calls & that worked very well until last week when they started again.

I don't answer calls from outside countries but the area codes of 250 numbers do catch me & I wish I could get rid of my cell phone ?

My phone knows the minute I cross into the USA but we are told scam calls can't be stopped ?

I'm tired of paying $800 a year for something that's supposed to be a convenience for myself & I have to check every call ?

[fluffy]

I have a cel number based in Penticton and these calls follow me all the way to Alberta. They make a point of threatening you early on in the call about the danger of ignoring the call. That’s usually where I simply hang up. Service Canada does not contact you by phone unless requested to do so.

[Fancy]

Generally I think they are from out of country and rerouted. I do not answer calls that I don't know who they are from. I disconnect the call on my cell and the landline they generally hang up. If it's important they'll send a letter. LOL.

[Fancy]

You might be interested in this article:

https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/s ... lls/438865

[GordonH]

Looks like it's for Land Lines, which I haven't had in 15 years.

If you are telus mobility customer it is also available for free.
Just login to your account and look for the link

[Bsuds]

Looks like it's for Land Lines, which I haven't had in 15 years.

Yes but you can also block calls on an iPhone if you have one. There is a setting to only accept calls from your contact list.

[Even Steven]

What is the origin of most of these? Are they coming from within Canada?

Just because the phone number says 250 or 604 doesn't mean anything. All the phone numbers can be masked on the sender's side. They can be dialling them from Bubai and they will still show up as 250 if they chose them to be. You can also randomly generate them, so blocking specific numbers doesn't really accomplish much.

I've noticed that on my phone the masked numbers are displayed differently. Normal numbers are displayed as 250-888-7777 (for example). The masked number displayed as 250 888 7777. It just looks odd. And every time I see this odd pattern, it's always a masked number, and it's always a scam.

The service where you have to press an extra number to connect apparently helps a lot because robots are not sophisticated enough.

[Fancy]

You and I are on the same page. Years ago it was hard to reroute numbers but it seems it's getting easier by the day and taking it to the next level. You think you're answering a local number but it's coming from Nigeria or Estonia or some other country.

[Even Steven]

Yup, Voice-over-IP (VOIP) technology is what makes it possible. My wife used to work for a VoiP phone company, and before sending a router needed for making these calls (as opposed to landlines), they had to pre-program the number into the router that the customer picked. She used to prank me and call me from different numbers like 911 or 800813S as a joke.

Now imagine the sophistication of scammers - they do so dynamically and hundreds of calls an hour.

[Noisy Boater]

The wife has received numerous calls in the last couple of days complete with threats of jail time. I said dont worry about it babe I will visit when I can and bring a cake. (Without the file.) And I still love you even if you are a criminal.