Odd phone call

[Nibor]

He sounded a bit like the Major in Fawlty Towers, not a Yorkshire accent, so yes, probably not!

Yorkshire!!!!!!

 

[All uphill]

I having been getting calls asking for Thelma for around five years. Men and women speaking in quite formal voices.

A couple of years ago I told one of the callers the story of the frequent calls and asked why they wanted her. He told me that she had signed credit agreements and supplied my number. The number came up on a list every three months to be tried.

Either that or Ms AU has a secret life and uses the name Thelma.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I remember someone talking about similar before, but I cannot recall the exact details.

A few minutes ago, I had an elderly and posh sounding gent on the phone asking if I had just phoned him.

I had not. We both have a very similar phone number, albeit two digits out.

Now I told him I had not called him and I shouted it a second time as he was hard of hearing (a recording trap?).

He then asked me to confirm my number was my number, he even said it all out to me... Smelling a rat, I hung up before I confirmed.


I just want to know, is this some sort of scam?
Why would he know my number?
Why would he say I called him when I didn't?

Or was it genuinely some old duffer getting confused? I felt bad hanging up, but... 🤷

Google his number, trace the address, brick his windows then torch the place. Won't call you again, guaranteed.

 

[Domus]

Yorkshire!!!!!!!........................................... How very dare you.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I remember someone talking about similar before, but I cannot recall the exact details.

A few minutes ago, I had an elderly and posh sounding gent on the phone asking if I had just phoned him.

I had not. We both have a very similar phone number, albeit two digits out.

Now I told him I had not called him and I shouted it a second time as he was hard of hearing (a recording trap?).

He then asked me to confirm my number was my number, he even said it all out to me... Smelling a rat, I hung up before I confirmed.


I just want to know, is this some sort of scam?
Why would he know my number?
Why would he say I called him when I didn't?

Or was it genuinely some old duffer getting confused? I felt bad hanging up, but... 🤷

I've had a couple of calls, one just a few weeks ago, which showed my mother calling me. Simultaneously, my mother got a call from me. We both wondered why the other had phoned. The double phone call originated with a Texas number but there was no evidence of this third-party caller. As soon as we'd established that neither had called, I rang off and made a genuine call to her.

I have no idea why this happened but I didn't want to hang around on the line.

 

[Emanresu]

I having been getting calls asking for Thelma for around five years. Men and women speaking in quite formal voices.

A couple of years ago I told one of the callers the story of the frequent calls and asked why they wanted her. He told me that she had signed credit agreements and supplied my number. The number came up on a list every three months to be tried.

Either that or Ms AU has a secret life and uses the name Thelma.

You must be rich! Common scam is to use an address of someone with a good credit rating which will pass checks.

Check your credit record to see if there have been 'soft traces' against it. If you haven't applied for anything then someone is trying to use your address.

 

[13 rider]

on ‎19-07-2021 18h18

39,046 Views
Message 2 of 23
Re: Receiving calls from people saying I called them, but I haven’t!
Sounds like someone spoofed your number, a common thing withs scammers now, so the calls look to be coming from the UK, once they get blocked they spoof another and so the cycle continues.
A reply on a BT forum
As an openreach engineer we had a spate of this occurrence about 18mths ago when the customer reported it to there provider's they would test the line and anything that tested less than perfect they would raise a fault presuming that was causing the issue ,which obviously it never was but I had to repair the line until it tested perfectly including digging up the pavement ,happy days

 

[annedonnelly]

Years ago my landline number was one digit different to a doctor's. I used to get messages on the answerphone from frustrated people trying to get through to a doctor and others giving their name and requesting a repeat prescription. I used to feel guilty that someone was expecting their medication to be ready when the surgery knew nothing about it.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I didn't mind her ringing and once I'd explained she'd got the wrong number, I would just have a conversation with her, and even her son reckoned she did it on purpose sometimes as she enjoyed our chats.

This thread has made me realise just how long it's been since she called me, and guessing as to why not.

Your chat was so rubbish she faked her death? 🙂

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Oh no, have I just made the Lancashire - Yorkshire gaffe again? ☺️😆

Do you know where he was brought up?

 

[stephec]

Was he asking about a book on fly fishing?

 

[oldwheels]

Years ago my landline number was one digit different to a doctor's. I used to get messages on the answerphone from frustrated people trying to get through to a doctor and others giving their name and requesting a repeat prescription. I used to feel guilty that someone was expecting their medication to be ready when the surgery knew nothing about it.

That does remind me that I used to get transatlantic calls from people wanting to book holidays at Glengorm Castle as my number was one digit out from theirs. This was my business line and I had a few interesting conversations with Americans who were obviously not bothered by cost. The castle owners were American and advertised very upmarket holidays in USA.

 

[Ian H]

A couple of days ago we were stopped in the street by a well-dressed, well-spoken, elderly fellow. He was terribly apologetic, asking us to tell him what day of the week it was. We told him. He thanked us profusely and walked off. I'm pretty certain it wasn't a scam.

Many years ago, when the M1 first opened, my parents would get calls at all hours from distressed motorists, who often refused to believe that they weren't speaking to the AA. They had to change their number.

More recently, at my business we used to get calls intended for High Wycombe police station. Not only did some callers refuse to believe we weren't the police, but a few got quite abusive.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Google his number, trace the address, brick his windows then torch the place. Won't call you again, guaranteed.

I tried to look up the number, but nothing came up for it.

Yorkshire!!!!!!

Yorkshire!!!!!!!........................................... How very dare you.

Oh shurr'up! 😆

Years ago my landline number was one digit different to a doctor's. I used to get messages on the answerphone from frustrated people trying to get through to a doctor and others giving their name and requesting a repeat prescription. I used to feel guilty that someone was expecting their medication to be ready when the surgery knew nothing about it.

Our landline when we were kids was one or two away from the Local Golf Club. Happy days!

"Yes sir, a 7 year old works in the office, what do you think?" 🤪

Do you know where he was brought up?

A shoe shop by the sounds of it! 😆

 

[Drago]

Years ago, early 90's, my phone number was a single digit different from a take away in Bletchley.

I was forever receiving calls intended for them. In the end I gave up arguing and instead started to take their orders, adding that it was on the house if it didn't arrive within 30 minutes. I imagine that started a few good fights.