If you or a loved one have been targeted by nuisance calls or scammers, a call blocker is well worth considering.
What is a call blocker?
A call blocker deters or prevents cold calls from telemarketers and fraudsters. The service intercepts each call and checks the caller's number: if it's a trusted caller, the phone rings as normal. Depending on the level of protection you choose, the blocker may reject unknown numbers altogether, or play a message asking cold callers to hang up while inviting genuine callers to leave their name.
Why they help
Nuisance calls are any unwelcome calls a person receives. It is now very cheap for call centres to make huge numbers of calls — an estimated 3 billion nuisance calls are made in the UK each year — and malicious callers who want to scam and steal often operate the same way. Simple precautions can protect you from them.
Will I notice it?
Call blockers are unobtrusive. The user notices no difference in how their landline works, other than the nuisance calls being filtered out — many people even forget the blocker is there.
Where to get one
The National Trading Standards Scams Team has, in the past, secured funding to supply a limited number of trueCall call-blocker units free of charge; they can also be bought privately.
You may also find these organisations useful: Ofcom, the Information Commissioner's Office, Action Fraud, the Telephone Preference Service, Which? and Age UK.
