Phone Line That Has a Number But Not Registered.

We get similar calls in the UK. I pity anyone gullible enough to believe them.
Is Microsoft really going to call you?
Yup it's just another scam.
I asked the first one we got which of the 3 computers in the house was giving problems and what OS it was running... he hung up pretty damn quick.

Get a whistle and whistle down the phone, there is overload protection, but it may discourage them and it'll make you feel better.
Del

Yes I know what you mean, but how do they get a number that is not a number that is registered with the telecommunications companys?

I did ring them back, this time I got a female so I asked her what she was wearing, she did not understand.

Cheers

Joe

Have a friend at the phone company!

Is it possible the local # went to a cell phone? The phone company would not have that.

Hi Aussie Bob the number is 09 8890626

Cheers

Joe

Hi mate

This phone number come from westen Australia and will find out for you today if you are happy with that

regard Ian nick name is Steelhead

Hi Steelmind how did you work out that this number come from WA?

Cheers

Joe

I don't know about New Zealand but in the US a person can enter a code on their keypad and force in any number that they want for the Caller ID. I have no clue how this is done, but I suspect that it starts with "star" or "pound" followed by several numbers. I saw a demo on TV where someone punched in the code on their cell phone, made a call to the person sitting next to them and the caller ID displayed the phone number of the White House.

Telemarketers use this all the time in the US. The "Do Not Call" laws in the US really mean that we don't get very many calls from legitimate marketers anymore.

Hi Bruce, the thing that I cant understand is how I can call a phone number in Auckland NZ +6498890626 that the telecommunications service providers say doesn't exist and get an answer? I think that the number could be transfered overseas but there is no delay in the connection which you would expect when calling overseas, the people that I was talking to were from Pakistan I could tell this from the profanities that they gave me.

But then again the phone number did not match the area that i was calling so it may have just been going to another part of Auckland.

But I am still stumped as to why telecom can't do any thing about this phone line, I pay charges for my phone lines, these people are getting a phone line for free, HOW DO THEY DO IT???? I want one to, wouldn't it be nice especially if you didn't have to pay for toll calls.

Cheers

Joe

Is it possible to play games with phones using VOIP to do this? I'm not familiar enough with the protocol to say, but that's what first came to mind for me.

I have never had this happen to me, and I am not too familiar with the way the NZ phone system can be manipulated. I do know Telecom have spare unassigned phone numbers for different areas, but I am not sure if you could find and use one of these to create an untraceable local phone number or use it to transfer to an overseas number using some sort of simple pirate telephone exchange.

Was the area code of the phone number for central Auckland?

Telecom also told me that they could not do anything about this problem, apart from barring calls from this number.

That's about all you can do unless you can call and trick them in to giving you the location (which is probably a residential address).

Still you had better luck with your scam, the last one I was involved in was an internet money laundering website (I kid you not). I called the police and they said they would not be able to help because they did not have access to email (this was a few years ago when a couple of the police computers had some dodgy pics on them so everyone suffered for it). The did ask me to fax the website to them, so I did.

This SCAM got significant news coverage in Aus around 4 weeks back. Seems they have moved to another country to try their luck.

Our "consumer Affairs" bureau had requested to be advised of any Australian contact so they could investigate.

Hi Just an Engineer,

I have taken your advice and notified "Consumer Affairs" here in NZ, that was a good idea.

Cheers

Joe

Back in the day of dial-up modems (remember those old slow devices) I had a system that I could set to "auto-call" every minute or so to any number in the world...really aggravated those sales people.

I'd have told him,"Let me refer you to son-in-law, who knows more about this computer than I do. His name is Shariff DiParman (sounds like Sheriff's Department) and his cell phone is ... "(give him ph # for local Sheriff's Dept).

My preferred method of dealing with telemarketers is the tell them to hold for me then put the hand set down and carry on doing what I was doing, most of these parasites give up after about 5 min. Had one the other day that stuck on for 20 minutes.

But as to your problem, I know Microsoft have a fraud branch, so passing this of to them may earn you some brownie points with them.

Yea they have one of those too but their fraud branch is better just look at Vista

Hi Joe

l have made two phone call this morning however there is one more number is missing That number is from Western Australia 09 is correct but 8890626 need one more number need 8 number all up. maybe you able recheck the phone number ok

all the best Steelmind

Steelmind, the number is a New Zealand number not a WA number, 09 is the area code for Auckland

Cheers

Joe

There are many different types of scams running on the Internet. Some announce you as winner of lottery ticket which you never bought. Some one offers you big gift. Another one offers fat salary job. They ask you to pay money for processing lottery amount, collect your bank details or credit card details etc. We should delete such e-mails immediately instead of responding them.

Well,

I have had a few of these over the past weeks.

The person who calls is never a technician, just wants to "help me out" Sorry but like dickmuir I encouraged him, not that Ireally hadthe time!!!

Why was he callingan infection on my computer and wanted to help me!

Who was paying?

Microsoft of course, Horse laugh obvioulsy.

What sort of infection do I have, he wanted to take down some details!! And then he would ask me various questions so that they could sort this out!

I tell him that I am covered for AV, A Spam, and more but did that shut him up?

Of course not

He was getting more and more exasperated with me, will I please tell him stuff about me and my computer!.

He seemed surpirised when I would not cooperate!

The Company Name was apparently twentyfour7 and it had a web site - or it did last week!

We ought to be able to get these people by the"nuts" and squeeze them so hard that everything drops out. Including any money that they have.

In practice if we all got together , agreed a common response we should be able to stop them, any ideas out there.?

My ISP has an abuse site which I have used whenever I have been offered kiddie Porn (usually Russina source) or something equally horrid; I am starting to think about using this for these horrors.

Any thoughts?

Sleepy

I had something similar but less scammy (is that a word?). A telemarketer rep from a PC fixing company called my home telling me about a new virus threat and how I could bring in my home computer in for 'professional' virus and malware cleaning. I let him get through his sales pitch and then kindly thanked him for informing me of the threat and that I would notify my IT department friends and update my virus and malware software immediately.

He was not happy about that and kept on trying to convince me I couldn't do it personally with my software, even when I informed him I had professional protection software.

Hey, they are just doing their job (and in the case of this guy, seemed to be reading from a script). A minor nuisance for a bit of harmless fun.

I'm glad you mentioned this. BTW, I was in your neighborhood yesterday and I was doing some initial testing on your local drinking water. You're probably going to get real sick unless you pay me to come back and do a complete test on your system. I'll need your credit card number before I come out

This scam is apparently run from India using VoIP phone calls that dial out into the national network of the target country. I am told these calls in the UK (which I get every other day) appear as a Manchester number. They ignore any opt outs under the telephone preference system. I suspect they are using a phone directory several years old as I never get these calls on my newer business line.

Hi Chankley, I think that you are on the right tract but, I can't rember what is VoIP, could you please take this out of abreviat mode for a dum fella like me please.

I was also thinking that they may be using Skype or similar communication format, but I still have no idea how they can do, what they do.

While i have been writing this message, I have just spoken to grey bytes and gave them a follow up on the problems with their computers and requested their credit details for services, they did not supply the details, but if they did, I would post them on this forum, so that we could all have a good time on them, lets call it a conference.

Cheers

Joe

Joe Sparky

Brilliant, a piece of their own medicine, now if we all knew the numbers we could all get in on the action!

My lot, called twentyfour7 - I did not retain their telephone number, like an idiot.

If there web site is still up- which i doubt, i will publish their details here!

Then all UK CR4 members could give them a hit!

Sleepy

I'm not the OP, but I'm still wondering how they (the scammer) can have a local number that works (per the OP), but the local telephone company not be aware of it or able to do anything to disable it.

VOIP (or SKYPE, which is a variety or brand of VOIP) does not explain that, afaict.

For a local number to work, there must be some "presence" at that number. I suppose that presence could be for the VOIP provider and handle calls to many "destinations" (i.e., not just the scammer) which might make the local telephone company reluctant to shut it down.

But, to do that, it would seem the local phone number would also need to include an extension, which the OP did not mention.

Still puzzled.

Hee hee...playing games with the spammers and scammers!

http://www.419eaters.com has been baiting them for some time.

Personally, when I feel in the mood, I send them an email reply which contains a particularly nasty virus.

But then, I was never noted for being a sheep.

Hi Kilowatt0 you get a GA from me, the web site is very informative, thanks mate

Best Regards

Joe

Your welcome.

But to be honest, it was BruceFlorida in post #7 that gave me the key phrase to search: "any number that they want for the Caller ID". Once I skipped past the sites wanting to sell me the spoofing software (they should be horse whipped!), it became clear as mud!

It isn't as simple as typing in a #/* combination, but apparently it is pretty easy to buy the software - if you don't have any scruples.

Good luck mate, though I don't think you need it; sounds like you have a smart wife, and I will take that over luck any day!

I don't think vishing / caller ID spoofing is the explanation (but I could be wrong). (And I don't use VOIP / Skype, so maybe I have something to learn ;-)

The OP very clearly says that he was given a local number and he called them back (successfullly) at that number. (My assumption is that he used his local, traditonal hard-wired land line--I could be wrong, so maybe the OP can clarify?)

And then he contacted the local Telecom investigation's unit and was told that the phone number did not exist.

Does caller ID spoofing really create a local number that works (from the Telecons traditional phone network) but does not exist as far as the local Telecon company is able to detect?

That is not my understanding, nor is what it says in the vishing article. Among other things, it says:

Don't trust caller ID. Just because your caller ID displays a phone number or name of a legitimate company you might recognize, it doesn't guarantee the call is really coming from that number or company. As explained earlier, caller ID spoofing is easy.

and

Don't trust caller ID. Just because your caller ID displays a phone number or name of a legitimate company you might recognize, it doesn't guarantee the call is really coming from that number or company.

It doesn't say that called ID spoofing gives the spoofer a local telephone number that works.

Hmm, I guess if the OP actually used Skype, and called that local number using his Skype "facility" (which I presume works through his computer / IP connection), Skype could connect his call to that local (spoofed) number. But if he tries to use that spoofed number through a local traditional telephone landline, I don't see how that could work.

Maybe I have to ask the OP if he uses Skype or something similar?

We've had two calls in the last weeks.

The first was from a (possible) US company asking me to go on to a website called 'viewer'. When I asked where they were based I heard the girl call to a 'supervisor' to check where they were, and she came back with 'Houston'.

The last one came from Luton (UK) allegedly, but the phone number was with-held.

I should have asked for a number to call them back on.

The local rozzers had a unit dealing with this type of crime, but I got no response last time I reported one.

After hundreds of thousands or millions of calls Florida is finally taking action against one of these companies. This link to a Florida newspaper will probably only be good for 7 days http://watchdog.flatoday.net/2011/05/breakthrough-state-sues-over-energy.html. The article explains how "Unlimited Energy Solutions" would robocall people and fool them into thinking that they were getting called from their local electric utility. According to the article these people programmed in phone numbers from prepaid cell phones (fake caller ID numbers). I am not located near them and I used to get 4-6 calls a week from them. This went on for 6 weeks or more. They ignore the government Do Not Call list, they ignore requests to be put on their do not call list and they refuse to accept a "no". It is sad that the government investigates them for a year or more before pressing charges. A lot of people were bothered by them, a lot of people were ripped off by them and a lot of taxpayer money was spent investigating them for a year. And, they have been busted for this before.

Any idea what the sentience for this crime is??