KEEP ON THE ALERT OVER SCAM CALLERS
AS I LOATHE scammers, when I heard from the comparison site, Uswitch.com, that scam calls claiming to be about your broadband or home computer are the most common type of fraudulent calls right now, I thought it was time to get serious with these guys!
Be on the alert if you receive any calls about your internet or technology. Be aware that your actual internet provider does not know what is happening on your computer or router, so if you receive a call from someone claiming this, you can be pretty sure it’s a scam.
A genuine call would also never insist you run checks on your computer or ask for remote access to your device and they would never ask for personal info or bank details.
Thankfully, it’s becoming easier to block unwanted calls to your mobile phone with apps. Uswitch says that ‘ Hiya’, formerly known as WhitePages, automatically identifies over 400 million nuisance numbers every month and will help you safely identify the ones you want to accept. Other apps that are safe to download include Mr Number, Truecaller and YouMail Visual Voicemail.
Some landline providers also offer protection from nuisance and scam callers. For example, BT customers can get Call Protect, which will send a lot of scam callers to your ‘junk voicemail’. Sky has a similar service.
You can also sign up to the Telephone Preference Service ( tpsonline.org.uk/) but that will only stop legitimate marketing calls coming through. It’s worth doing if you haven’t already, but just be aware that it won’t stop fraudsters.