Given that so many of these calls originate from outside Europe my latest tactic has been to try and keep them on the phone for as long as possible with all sorts of delaying tactics! I chalk one up for me if I can string them along for so long that they are ones who eventually hang up on me. I've clearly been successful because the number and frequency of calls has started to tail off - I think my number must be starting to circulate on some sort of 'Don't Bother' list!

My latest tactic with the 'market researchers' who phone is to sound genuinely interested, point out that by chance I too am a researcher. I then ask them for the names of the companies they are conducting the research on behalf of, and also ask them which code of research ethics they subscribe to, just so I know where I stand before I start giving them any information. If asked for examples of what I mean I can reel off a long list of initials and acronyms of research codes (because I genuinely am a researcher!). The last 'researcher' asked me what did I mean by 'ethics' and why was it important?!? She was distinctly non-plussed by me replying that if she couldn't re-assure me that the research was being conducted ethically, then what she was doing must be unethical or even down right illegal and hence I couldn't possibly jeopardise my own professional, academic and ethical standing as a researcher by participating in her research. Works a treat - I love to hear the silence at the other end of the line as, for a change, they try to work out what on earth I am talking about and then hang-up when they realise that they've just cost the company a good 10mins or more of international call charges with no gain for them.

The worrying thing is that they must get sufficient 'hits' from people who are not aware they are being scammed to make it worth their while.

SM

PS The numbers that Sanji found are prefixed by the UK country code (44) but this does not mean that they are being originated in this country. Have you ever been given the 44 country code at the beginning of the telephone number when you've 1471'd a call that is genuinely from the UK? No, me neither, I don't know how they are doing it but concealing the number behind a 44 country code also seems to be part of the scam somehow to try and re-assure people that they are being rung from somewhere in the UK.

My father-in-law recently got caught out by someone claiming to call from "Windows". He was told to check for a particular file on the pc and when he found it was asked for his credit card details so that they could dial in to the pc and fix it. He phoned us from his mobile whilst the caller was "fixing" the pc and hubby kept screaming at him to unplug the pc but he refused because he had been told not to touch it while it was being fixed. He ended up with a £150 charge on his credit card plus a £40 bill to get the pc checked over and hubby lost an afternoon trying to sort out the mess.

Aww that's terrible Elaine -