For the last few months, we’ve regularly received phone calls from weird numbers. I don’t pick up, as it’s probably a scam, and genuine callers will leave a message.

Examples include:
0000-00000
000-999-9999
0055
0012-xx-xxx
0015-xxx-xxxx

The only regular overseas call is from France, and shows up as “Out of Area”. Strangely, HMRC in Liverpool also shows “Out of Area”!

Anyone else receiving these calls? And any ideas about the non-standard phone numbers? Thanks!

Yes I’ve had one from a number that starts 011….

I’ve added the number to my blocked numbers list.

there is very rarely anyone on the end of them, they are hoping you’ll call back and rack up a large bill.

If you google the numbers usually come up as scammers of some kind, I’ve had a fwe from Jamaica. Block the numbers but it’s often a different one next time.

Just sales or marketing calls. Ignore and go about your business.

I occasionally pick up and if anyone is there blow a survival whistle down the line – should reverberate around the old headset nicely

Scum

I occasionally pick up and if anyone is there blow a survival whistle down the line

Like that 😀

Are they calling about the monies?

As @bigyinn says sales and marketing mainly. The telesales people have realised people don’t answer “number unknown/withheld” so are now calling with other strange numbers, I got a call from an 0800 number recently, was telesales from India (or similar) and Three mobile offering me some “special deals”.

Orange/EE kept ringing me from weird numbers. It’s a sad state of affairs when you have to block your own network provider as they keep pestering you to offer ‘deals’, all of which seem to involve me spending more money with them.

Orange/EE kept ringing me from weird numbers. It’s a sad state of affairs when you have to block your own network provider as they keep pestering you to offer ‘deals’, all of which seem to involve me spending more money with them.

Still doing that, are they? I used to be with Orange, then changed to O2, porting my number over because it was such an easy one to remember. Trouble was, I continued to get call from dealers trying to flog me upgrades for getting on for two years afterwards, which just reinforced my conviction that Orange were crap and I was better off elsewhere.
I’ve only ever had one call from a dealer trying to sell an upgrade on O2 in around thirteen-fourteen years.

Are they stopped by TPS registration?

The one good side of registering with TPS is that you then don’t need to be polite to spam callers.

TPS doesn’t seem to stop the calls these days 🙁

Are they stopped by TPS registration?

Only applies to calls emanating from the UK so unfortunately doesn’t apply to those calling from EU or farther afield.

On the other hand, the TPS list will give unscrupulous people my phone number – which is otherwise ex-directory 😕 But it’s more likely to be a random-number generator, I guess.

I’m not particularly bothered by these calls, just curious about the strange numbers (eg 0055). But I’m concerned that my gullible mother will get scammed, as she insists on chatting to anyone who phones 🙄

I had a phone call a few weeks back from a number local to me.
I asked where they were calling from as I wasn’t aware of any call centres in my town.
Turns out they were miles away and have software that works out where your home is and spoofs a local landline number.

Apparently it increases the pickup rate!!!

I find this site quite handy for these cases……http://whocallsme.com/

If I can’t get these callers to hang up on me I feel I have failed.

Well, it seems there are now a variety of apps and websites allowing you to change what someone sees on their Caller ID display. So that’s obviously what’s producing these weird phone numbers (such as 000-999-9999).

Plenty of new opportunities for pranks then . . .

Back in the day, we thought it was hilarious to leave messages such as “Please call Mr C Lyon on 01244 380280”. Life was so much simpler then 😐